Rebounds
by The Emperor of Dreams
Summary: Sequel to Reflections. Kim is trying to deal with her broken heart when Shego makes a surprising return into her life. Adrena Lynn returns to pursue her vengeance on the two, and this time she isn't alone.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Kim Possible is owned by Disney.

 **Author's note:** This is a sequel to _Reflections_. As such, it will contain spoilers to the earlier story, and they begin in the first paragraph. If you haven't read _Reflections_ yet, this might be a good time to do so. It shouldn't be necessary to follow the story, though, as there will be a recap right here in this first chapter.

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

Shego tossed around in her bed, unable to sleep. She kept thinking about Kim Possible, and the way she had treated her at their last meeting. She felt guilty, no matter how much she tried to convince herself she didn't have any reason to. They had had an understanding, and Kim wanted to go beyond it. Perhaps she had gone a little far in making her point, but she had to make it clear to Kim that there was not going to be anything between them. Really, she had been doing the girl a favor.

She could still see Kim's expression in that final moment, the disbelief and heartbreak on her youthful face. She had hurt Kim, after promising her she wouldn't use their affair against her. She should have found a different way. Deep down, she knew she hadn't been thinking of Kim in that moment, but of herself. She had been afraid she was getting in too deep, and she had made sure to sever that incipient connection before it could become an unwelcome complication. It was the right call, she just should not have been so cruel about it.

She shouldn't have gotten involved with Kim in the first place, really. She had known it was a mistake from the start, but when Kim had offered to sleep with her, she had jumped at the chance. She hadn't ended up as a thief because she was particularly good at resisting temptation. In Shego's opinion, it would take a saint to turn down Kim Possible. A dead saint. She still couldn't bring herself to regret the act itself, only the fallout. The fallout that was her fault.

"God damn it."

The guilt was useless. There was nothing she could do about it now. She turned around and buried her face into her pillow. She could just apologize to Kim the next time they met. This wasn't something she needed to lose sleep over. But would apologizing just undo what she had hoped to accomplish with her touch of cruelty? If she explained to Kim she hadn't really meant it, would she take it as a sign that she might be interested in something more? Why did things suddenly have to be so difficult? She'd had a comfortable thing going, lonely and boring, maybe, but easy. Of course it was the constant pain in her ass that ruined it for her.

She remembered how Kim's touch had felt, the way the imprint of her hand had been so much clearer, more distinct than those of other people. Was that how it felt to touch someone you might have feelings for? It was a depressing thought that she didn't even remember what the sensation of being with someone you were infatuated with felt like. There was no room for romance in her current life. Not with anyone, but especially not with a hero like Kim. She would apologize to Kim, but make it clear she was emphatically not going to add to their brief fling.

Shego's mind should have been easier with the decision made, but sleep was still slow coming. Her bed was large, and it felt empty. Her long hair brushed her face every time she shifted position, and in her half-formed thoughts she imagined it belonged to someone else sharing her pillow. Eventually she became too exhausted for even her restless thoughts to keep her awake, and fell into fitful slumber.

* * *

Shego emerged from her room at Dr. Drakken's latest lair in search of coffee. After a shower she felt a little more like a human, though not a particularly wakeful one. What little vigor the shower had imparted her was gone by the time she was toweled and dressed in her green and black catsuit. At least the harlequin-patterned suit was remarkably hard to put on wrong, though she had once again gotten tangled in the sleeves for a while. She was not a morning person at the best of times, and she hadn't had a good night's sleep.

The fluorescent lights in the bare corridor were too bright. She grumbled as she made her way to the kitchen. She wished there were henchmen around she could order to fetch her coffee, but she had only recently broken Dr. Drakken out of prison, and he was still setting up. Usually she let him stew a little longer while she took a vacation, but after the incident with Adrena Lynn and the way things went with Kim, she hadn't been in the mood for it.

When she entered the kitchen, she was greeted by Dr. Drakken's disagreeable voice. "Good morning, Shego." He was fully dressed, thankfully, wearing his usual double-breasted blue coat that was probably designed to recall a scientist's lab coat.

"Keep it down, will you? I didn't sleep well."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Shego." He hadn't lowered his voice at all. "Perhaps you, too, should have had some delicious warm chocolate before bed. It helps me sleep like a baby."

"I don't doubt it, Doc." After all, he was like a baby in many other ways, too. "Is there any coffee?"

"Of course there is coffee, Shego. How would one start a morning without coffee? Although I really think it should be you making it. After all, I am the brains of this outfit, and..."

"Hold it right there. My contract specifically says I'm not responsible for coffee."

"It doesn't say that."

"Do we need to go over this again?" Shego glowered at her employer. With as rotten as she felt, it was a good glower.

"Fine, have it your way." Dr. Drakken grumbled to himself while Shego poured herself a cup. "We need to get some henchmen in here. It's a waste of my genius to do trivial chores."

"So, you have some funds lined up, then?" Shego took a careful sip. She had to admit that, despite his numerous other faults, Dr. Drakken brewed good coffee.

"Not as such. I was wondering if you might..."

"I'm not loaning you my hard-earned money." Or the money she had swindled out of him, for that matter.

"Perhaps you could steal some?"

"You want me to steal money, you plan the job. If I have to do all the work, I'll keep the swag, too."

"Mmh. We can get by. Most of the equipment was lined up already. The transhemispheric magnetoscope I sent you to steal last week was the final piece to the puzzle."

It hadn't been so much that Dr. Drakken had sent her; rather, Shego had browbeaten him into just giving her a description of the item and staying behind. She had wanted to make a quick, clean grab to avoid running into Kim, something that would have been all but impossible if she'd had to babysit the bumbling mad scientist.

"Already? I'm impressed, Dr. D. Usually you just flail around for a few weeks before you get your ducks in a row."

"I really don't like this attitude of yours, Shego. Follow me to the command center, and I'll explain everything."

"Command center? You call it command center, now?"

Dr. Drakken, however, wasn't listening, having already marched out of the room. Shego shrugged, picked up her cup, and followed him.

* * *

Shego settled herself at the table in the middle of the large room, while Dr. Drakken paced back and forth in front of a set of needlessly large displays.

"It is no accident that we are in this specific lair, Shego. It was in this very lair my genius gave birth to something astonishingly brilliant, yet wickedly evil."

"I've got to say I'm not fond of your choice of expression, Dr. D."

"Mm. Everyone's a critic. My work on the device was nearly complete, when circumstances forced me to put it on hold."

"By which you mean Kimmie sent you to jail."

"Can we not talk about her, Shego? Kim Possible may think she is all that, but I assure you, she is not." Shego had to disagree. She could testify from first hand experience that Kim most certainly was all that.

"If your thing was so brilliant, and nearly finished, why didn't you get back to it sooner? We haven't been in this lair for, what, a year?"

"I had other irons in the fire, Shego."

"You forgot all about it, didn't you?"

"Why must you always try to drag me down? Would it kill you to be supportive just once?"

"It might, and I'm not prepared to take that chance."

"Bah. Irregardless..."

"That's not a word."

"Irregardless, Shego, let me explain my fearsome machine in exquisite detail..."

Shego tuned Dr. Drakken out, as she didn't need the excruciating details. She looked at the pile of magazines littering the desk and picked one up at random. Dr. Drakken liked to have an audience, but didn't usually notice if they were actually paying attention. A few grunts now and then were generally enough to keep him from being a nuisance. Today, however, Shego needed distraction from other things as well: namely her own thoughts and the way they kept returning to the affair with Adrena Lynn, and the different affair with Kim.

Lynn had planned to hijack Jack Hench's project to imbue people with the Go Glow in her campaign of vengeance against Kim. Shego didn't hold people who went for vendettas in high regard, but if that would have been all, she would have been content to let Kim handle it. It was involving her family's legacy that made her break out of prison ahead of schedule to stop Lynn. She had failed. In her effort to destroy Hench's device, she had also destroyed the piece of Go Comet it housed, and in the resulting explosion Lynn had gained the power she sought. It had availed her little.

The power Lynn had received seemed almost tailor-made for someone looking to humiliate their nemesis. The orange Glow let Lynn control people. Unfortunately for her, it didn't appear to work on Kim at all. Shego was also immune, probably because of her own Glow. Other people, not so much. Nevertheless, Shego and Kim had dealt with Lynn without undue difficulty. She was back in prison less than a week after making parole.

She still had the Glow, though. It irked Shego that the useless wannabe criminal now had access to the otherworldly power that belonged to her family. For a wild second she had considered asking Dr. Drakken's help in rendering Lynn powerless, but quickly thought better of it. She doubted that the moron was up to it, and she didn't really want to encourage anyone to develop a way to neutralize the Go Glow. Aviarius's power-stealing device had been bad enough, even if she had ended up with all of her brothers' powers for a few glorious minutes.

Kim had briefly had powers during that incident, too. Aviarius had attempted to steal her brother Hego's powers, but had inadvertently transferred them to Kim, instead. Not surprising, considering the old man was probably going senile, and hadn't been that impressive even in his best days. Why couldn't Kim have ended up with the Glow that went to Lynn instead? She had been standing right next to Lynn when the comet fragment exploded. Something in the image nagged at Shego, but her mind seized on the idea of what an exhilarating opponent Kim with a Glow of her own would have been.

Shego wondered how Kim would have reacted to having mind control powers. It was the kind of power that might be a bit of an ethical struggle for the hero. Or maybe not; Shego could see her controlling a couple of henchmen and ordering them to attack the rest. Kim had never had too much of a problem with beating up bad guys. She tended to avoid excessive force, sure, but didn't seem overtly concerned about some cuts and bruises, or even the occasional concussion or a cracked rib.

Kim might also not be quite as virtuous as she had imagined. Apart from her willingness to indulge in the occasional lesbian fling with a villain, there was the fact that she'd helped Shego avoid capture to facilitate said fling. Kim might be corruptible, after all. If she could be seduced onto the side of evil, the reason she needed to keep a distance between them wouldn't apply. They could be partners in all the senses of the word. A surge of heat went through her at the thought.

Shego shook her head irritably. The magazine wasn't doing a good job distracting her. Dr. Drakken still droned on. Shego searched the table for something more interesting, and happened upon an envelope addressed to her; or rather, to one of her longer-standing fake identities. Intrigued, she opened it up with one slice of her Glow-wreathed finger. Inside was a printed letter informing her she had won first prize in a magazine contest: a free spa treatment.

She didn't recall the competition. She sometimes did puzzles and crosswords to pass the time, but she must have been exceptionally bored to actually go to the trouble to actually mail the thing off. Well, she wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth—she loved free stuff. The letter contained instructions for claiming her prize. She carefully folded the letter and stored it in her ankle pouch. A spa trip sounded like the perfect way to forget her troubles for a while, the next time Dr. Drakken's plans inevitably crashed.

There was an ominous rumble and the entire lair shook.

"What the hell was that?" Shego was up from her chair and looking around.

"That was my lovely machine I've been explaining to you for the last fifteen minutes, Shego. Haven't you been paying attention?"

"I never pay attention to your rants. What does your machine do?"

"Shego, that is very hurtful."

"Well, that's in the past and it's too late to change it now, so let's focus on the present: what does your machine do?"

"My Intercontinental Electromagnetisizer charges up the atmosphere with negatively charged electrons..."

"English, Dr. D, in English."

"It moves the continents."

"What?"

"It moves the continents, Shego."

"You've got to be kidding me. Does it actually work?"

"You felt the earth move, didn't you?"

"Really not a fan of your word choices."

"Hrmn. Whatever, Shego. My plan is working."

"And what is that plan, exactly?"

"To gather all the continents together into one big landmass, creating a fitting monument to my greatness when I finally conquer the world. Which, incidentally, will be much more convenient with all the world in one place."

"Uh huh, uh huh. And didn't they make you take your pills back at the prison?"

"Shego, I don't like your implications. I am perfectly sane, and soon I'm going to prove it to the entire world. They will see, they will all see!"

The lair shook again, more violently. Cracks appeared on the walls.

"You could have given me a little warning before you turned it on."

"It's been on all morning. It takes a while for the charge to build up."

"And can the lair stand all this shaking?"

"Uhh... I'm not sure. It's possible."

"It's possible?"

"Kim Possible, actually."

Shego sighed inwardly at the familiar, confident voice. She really had hoped she wouldn't run into Kim just yet, but of course Dr. Drakken had to jump the gun. Oh well, it was going to happen sooner or later. With a feeling of resignation Shego turned to face her long-time nemesis, occasional ally, and the girl whose heart she'd broken.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Shego maintained an outward appearance of calm as Dr. Drakken whirled to face the heroic pair of Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable, astonishment on his face.

"Kim Possible! How can you be here?"

"Your earthquake machine wasn't exactly hard to find, Drakken."

Shego took a moment to study Kim. She appeared to be all business, and her attention was strictly focused on Dr. Drakken. That was unusual, and certainly deliberate. Previously, Kim had at least kept one eye on her, when she wasn't entirely focused on her. It wasn't until now that Shego realized it hadn't necessarily been entirely because Kim considered her the greatest threat in the room, but possibly partly because Kim had just plain liked looking at her. She probably wasn't too fond of her right now. At least it seemed like her little speech had had the intended effect. It didn't make Shego feel as good as one might have thought.

"You mean my Intercontinental Electromagnetisizer."

"Whatever. We're here to shut it down."

"Never. Shego, stop them."

Everybody turned to look at her, Kim included. Her face was a carefully held mask, and Shego couldn't read anything but determination in it, which in itself told her plenty. Kim tensed for combat, but Shego made no immediate moves.

"I don't know, Dr. D. I'm kinda with them on that one. The ceiling looks like it's about to come down."

Shego ran her eyes up and down Kim, who blushed a little at the attention. It was nice to know she could still have such an effect on her. Instead of her usual cargo pants and turtleneck crop top, Kim was dressed in a tight, short-sleeved purple shirt and black flared pants.

"I like the new look, by the way." Shego mentally slapped her forehead. This was not the approach she had meant to take.

"The ceiling? Bah, I have no time for such trivial concerns when I'm about to bring the world to its knees."

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but I really don't think one little earthquake is going to bring the world to its knees any time soon."

"One little earthquake? You fool. My machine will shift the very continents themselves."

Kim brought her wrist to her mouth, and spoke to a device attached to it. "Uhh... Wade?"

"He's delusional, Kim," said the voice from the wrist communicator. "It's preposterous to even suggest one machine could do that."

"Delusional? I'll show you delusional."

Dr. Drakken leaped to the display screen set in one wall of the room and punched a number of buttons on the attached control panel. The screen filled with formulas and schematics. Kim looked at Shego, appearing perplexed. Shego shrugged her shoulders. Apparently the fight was delayed until her boss got a chance to demonstrate his brilliance.

"There: does that look preposterous to you, Mister Smarty-pants?"

Kim angled what had to be a compact, updated version of her communicator at the screen. There was a pause as the boy at the other end of the connection presumably studied the screen via a camera feed.

"That's... the mechanism actually seems solid. In fact, it's downright brilliant."

Dr. Drakken preened. "I told you. Once all the continents have been brought together in one super-continent..."

"Of course, it won't work, because he doesn't have nearly enough power, by some orders of magnitude. He misplaced a decimal point."

"What?" Dr. Drakken wheeled to stare at the equations on the screen. "Oh, snap; it's always that one thing. Stupid metric system..."

"And even if he did," the voice from the Kimmunicator went on, "it wouldn't work on the kind of timescale he seems to think."

"Oh, yeah, Dr. D. This was definitely worth waiting a year for. Definitely one of your more spectacular failures."

"Quiet, Shego. Hmph. No matter, I will at least give this paltry state the biggest earthquake in its history. They will know my name!"

"Dude, big deal. This is Colorado."

"Actually, Ron, the biggest recorded earthquake in Colorado was over six and a half on Richter scale. That can do considerable damage, especially in a state not prepared for big ones."

"Got it, Wade. Ron, let's go shut that thing down."

"No you won't. Shego, stop them."

"Yeah, yeah, keep your pants on. Please." Shego finally charged to intercept Kim, her hands igniting with her green Glow. An unrepentant part of her mind noted that Kim could take her pants off, if she wanted to.

"Ron, I've got Shego. Go find that machine."

"Got it, KP." Ron ran out of the room. Dr. Drakken ran after him. "Come back here, sidekick."

Shego attacked, opening with a vicious slash of her clawed fingers. Kim barely evaded the strike by throwing herself backwards.

"You really want to do this now, with the roof coming down on us?"

"What's the matter, Princess? Scared?" The attitude came easily, and Shego cursed herself. She wasn't sure how she could transition from that to an apology. The fight she didn't see as a problem; they always fought, and by now it was rather routine.

"You seemed to be fine with shutting the machine down two minutes ago."

"Just to irritate him. I'm on board with giving the locals a little shake up."

"Shego, if the earthquake builds up, a lot of people could be hurt, even killed."

"Evil, Kimmie. I'm evil, remember." Well, at least she was reinforcing the fact that they were not going to be together. She pressed her attack, and Kim kept dodging.

"I don't believe you. I can't believe you are that callous."

"Well, Kimmie, I'll be happy to demonstrate it once again. Just stand still for a second."

"How about no?"

"See, you don't trust me not to hurt you. Because you know I'm evil. It's not my fault you think evil is sexy." Goddammit, what was wrong with her? She was hitting all the wrong notes.

"I don't."

"Then why did you..."

"Shego! You promised."

Shego stopped her attacks, and the women eyed each other warily for a moment before relaxing.

"I did, didn't I? Yeah, maybe that was pushing it."

"If you really were evil, you wouldn't care."

"Drop it, Kimmie. Just because I have some standards doesn't mean I'm all warm and cuddly."

"Well, you seemed pretty warm when we cuddled."

"Kimmie, it's got to be a two way street." That was still a little unexpected rejoinder from Kim. Shego had expected more bitterness, or even downright hostility.

"But I wasn't... oh, yeah, I see."

"It's tempting, isn't it?"

"You're tempting." There was a twinkle in her eye. Had she come to terms with their fling, or was she still looking for more?

"And yet it was you who tempted me."

"You didn't really work very hard to resist."

"Hey, I'm the bad girl. I don't really make an effort to."

The fight had come to an awkward pause, with neither woman quite knowing how to proceed after the unscheduled flirting. Shego solved the problem in her usual fashion: with sudden and unrestrained violence. Her quick strike surprised Kim, and her non-powered punch connected with her stomach. Kim had to scramble back to reestablish her guard.

"That... that was a... cheap shot."

"Evil." Shego covertly shook her hand. Hitting Kim had hurt more than it should have. Was her new outfit reinforced somehow? Shego advanced on Kim again.

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Like what? The shaking?"

"Your glow. I might start to think you were going easy on me."

"Just getting warmed up, Kimmie."

She was also trying to determine what was going on. Without her Glow active, Kim was willing to get up close and personal. They exchanged blows, blocking and deflecting each other's attacks. Every time Shego landed even a glancing blow, it felt like she struck something more solid than flesh. It wasn't the costume; it happened when she hit a bare arm, too. Fighting Kim had never felt like this. It was almost like her body rebelled against hitting her.

What had changed and when? This was the first time she'd fought Kim since—since the affair with Lynn. Shego's eyes widened as a realization dawned on her. She remembered Lynn's orbs bouncing off Kim; the way she'd been caught in the flash that had given Lynn her power. What if the fragment had contained more than one Glow? Her entire family had been empowered by the larger part that had hit their house.

As they continued to grapple, Shego tried to study Kim. Her family had gone through changes, the Glow altering the color of their skin, their hair, their eyes. She couldn't tell if Kim's skin tone had changed. She peered deep into her eyes as they locked up. They were still green. But were there yellow flecks in them? She wasn't sure. Kim slipped out of her hold.

No, there was only one way to be sure. Shego finally lit up her hands as they faced off again.

"Okay, Kimmie. Let's get serious."

Shego pressed the attack, her hands slashing the air inches from Kim. Smell of ozone filled the air as the power of her Glow cut the very air itself. She wasn't holding back now. Kim couldn't afford to get into close quarters anymore, and concentrated on dodging as she tried to look for an opening.

"I promised you a beat-down, Kimmie. Now be a good girl and take your punishment."

"Punishment for what?"

Kim's evasions became wilder as Shego escalated, but she was still just fast enough to avoid the dangerous slashes. Shego shivered internally; if Kim missed just one beat, she could be seriously injured. Shego didn't want to maul the younger woman, she just wanted to press her hard enough for her to pull out all the stops.

"Shego, we don't have time for this. This place is shaking apart. We need to deactivate that machine."

"Wouldn't really be a good look for me to sabotage my employer."

"How about we shift the fight that way and accidentally destroy it?"

Shego wasn't sure if Kim was being practical, or trying to find common ground for them. She did know that she wasn't pressuring her hard enough if she could still focus on the big picture while warding her off.

"Stop talking and show me what you've got!"

Shego pushed herself as much as she ever had in a fight. No more allowing room for error; perhaps Kim had sensed that and taken advantage of it. Shego attacked her with everything she got: punches that could pulverize concrete, slashes that cut through steel, bone-breaking kicks, and glowing projectiles that hit like haymakers. Somehow Kim evaded or deflected all of them, but the margins were narrowing. Kim's outfit was torn in places, her skin showed cuts and bruises. She couldn't keep this up indefinitely, and one false move would see her hit.

"Show me, Kim!"

"Shego..."

Screaming from the effort Shego launched a veritable volley of glowing spheres at Kim, far too many to evade. Kim tried her best, but she was forced to block a number of the missiles. She grunted in pain as she was thrown back against a wall. Reeling, and out of room to maneuver, there was no way for her to dodge Shego's finishing blow.

Shego drove towards her, aiming to put her clawed fingers wreathed in her power right through her face. She wasn't sure just how bad a hit it would be: her Glow's effect on flesh wasn't as devastating as on materials like concrete or steel, but it was not a hit anyone would willingly take. Kim raised her arms to protect her face, and Shego waited for her to activate her Glow.

That never happened. Shego shifted her strike at the last second, shattering the wall beside Kim's head and showering her hair with concrete dust. Exhausted as she was, her Glow deactivated without a conscious decision. Kim lowered her hands and looked at Shego, her glistening face too close. Both women were panting.

"You pulled back."

"I could have killed you."

"Shego..."

"Don't read too much into it. I told you: I'm not a murderer. I was trying to make a point."

"I get it. You won't go easy on me."

Shego didn't answer, her attention drawn by the crack that extended up from the dent she'd made as the lair continued to shake. The crack snaked up to the ceiling, then extended along it. Dr. Drakken had built his lair into a cavern, then smoothed out the walls and ceiling of his command center with concrete. Now the shaking was separating it from the rock face. As Shego watched, a section came loose and fell towards them. It wasn't a large chunk, but plenty big enough to crush both of them.

Time seemed to slow down as Shego decided what to do. Her legs felt leaden, so she brought her hands up and called on her Glow to try to shred the falling piece. Her Glow didn't answer; she had utterly exhausted her reserves with her final onslaught. She didn't have time to warn Kim, let alone grab her and move them from the harm's way. All she could do was stare as the falling piece of masonry hurtled towards them.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Kim Possible followed Shego's gaze up and saw the block of concrete falling towards them. She only had a second to act and she didn't hesitate. Kim thrust her arms over her head as she called on her glow. The falling piece was met by the yellow spheroids enveloping her hands.

The chunk was far larger and heavier than anything else she had tried to block. The impact jarred her arms, but the piece bounced back from her power like everything else, reversing its course and hurtling towards the ceiling. Before it could spend its inverted momentum and fall back down, Kim grabbed Shego and threw them to the side, away from danger. The block came down and the impact showered them with debris and dust.

Kim enjoyed the feel of Shego's body pressed against hers for a second, remembering happier occasions when that had happened. She carefully disentangled herself and got up to face the music. She fidgeted, trying to brush away the dust as she waited for Shego to explode. Shego got up slowly and faced Kim, her usually expressive face held carefully neutral.

"So you did get powers."

"Yeah."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you to hate me."

"Hate you? What do you mean?"

"I remember how you reacted when Lynn got a glow. I didn't want you to ever look at me like that." Kim waited in nervous silence as Shego looked at her, her face expressionless.

"Kim... Lynn went out of her way to steal the Glow. You getting it was an accident. That's completely different, and I don't hate you for that."

Kim let out the breath she had been holding.

"Still, you could have let me know. I think I was entitled to that, don't you think?"

Kim thought that the largest part of the so called Go Comet landing in her backyard didn't actually mean that everything that concerned the powers was under Shego's purview, but she understood how she felt.

"I wasn't going to let anyone know." Kim tried a little smile. "But I'm glad I don't have to hide it from you anymore. And I'm glad you don't hate me."

"I can't believe you."

"Excuse me?"

"You took all that punishment rather than reveal your Glow. Were you really going to take that last blow? I could have disfigured you for life, or worse." Shego looked angry now, or maybe just exasperated.

"But you didn't. I just... I really didn't want you to hate me." She had also had faith that Shego wouldn't really deliberately hurt her like that.

"Unbelievable."

Kim didn't say anything. Now that her adrenaline high was ending, Kim was starting to feel just how banged up she was. She ached from bruises all over her body, and sweat and dust were making even small scrapes and wounds sting. Since there hadn't actually been any need to suffer all that hurt in order to avoid revealing her power, she felt a little foolish. An uncomfortable silence descended over them. Smell of dust was heavy in the air, but the lair was quiet.

"Uh, did the place stop shaking?"

"Huh. I guess it did."

"I, uh, I think I'd better check on Ron."

"Call him, but don't go anywhere. We're not done yet."

Kim tapped her wrist Kimmunicator, which had survived the combat through either luck or sturdy construction. She needed to remember to compliment Wade on the new device.

"Hi, KP."

"Ron, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Dr. Drakken's earthquake machine got crushed when a wall fell on it. Uh, he ran away through the hole."

"It's okay, Ron. You get out, too, before the whole lair collapses. Call a ride, I'll meet you outside."

"You get out too, KP."

"I will, I just need to check something first." Kim disconnected before Ron could argue with her. She looked back at Shego.

"So what does it do?"

"Huh?"

"Your Glow, obviously. What does it do?"

"Oh, uh, it's a shield of some kind. It reflects attacks. I haven't had a chance to experiment with it a lot, since I've tried to keep it secret."

"I guess that explains why Lynn's hypno-spheres bounced off you."

"Maybe. I wasn't really using my power then, though."

"I think your Glow has a passive effect. I noticed that punching you hurt more than it should, like your body was hitting me back."

"Huh."

Shego took a step closer and carefully laid her hand on Kim's arm. Pleasant tingles spread through Kim's body from the point of contact.

"Do you feel that?"

"Yes." Kim's voice shook and her mouth was dry. If Shego's touch alone made her feel this good, she was way beyond a simple crush. She had to win Shego back.

"I think it's our Glows interacting."

"What? No!" That couldn't be it. This feeling couldn't be just a side effect of their powers. It had to mean more than that.

"I noticed earlier that touching you feels different, more pronounced. It's like your skin is pressing back at me. It must be your reflection power reacting to my Glow, just like it reacted to Lynn's."

"I... don't you think it could be just us? You're not even using your glow."

"How does it feel to you?"

"It tingles, like electricity, but it's very nice." Kim bit her lip. "It's growing stronger, too."

"So it is." Shego abruptly pulled her hand back. The tingling sensation stopped, but Kim could still feel warmth from the spot Shego had touched. "It's our Glows trying to win a shoving match. You remember how Lynn's power affected me, how it took me a while to fight it off? Same thing."

"I don't believe you."

"You said that the last time we met." Was that guilt in Shego's eyes?

"I just... you were so cruel."

"Yeah. Sorry."

"Are you really?"

"I... I didn't mean most of it, okay? I just... I needed to convince you that we couldn't ever be an item."

"It really hurt."

"I know. I should have found a better way to do it, but you weren't taking a hint."

"So it's my fault?"

"I'm not so good with apologies, okay?"

"If you're apologizing, if you didn't mean it... does that mean that..."

"No, stop. See? You still won't take a hint. Okay, let's try to do this right." Shego took a deep breath.

"I don't hate you; for having a Glow, or for anything else. I don't see you as a little girl. I really liked having sex with you, and I wouldn't have minded some more."

Kim opened her mouth, which prompted Shego to hold up a finger.

"But, I'm not looking for anything more. I will not ever date a hero. I'm not interested in a relationship, and even if I was, there's just too many complications with a hero and a villain. You know that too, if you're honest with yourself. You're just either too young or too infatuated to think it through. That's why I had to call it off. If you'd been content with just the occasional sex, it would have been fine. As long as we are on different sides, that's all it can ever be."

"So you are saying it was my fault, after all."

"It's not a question of fault. We wanted different things, and I thought it was best to end it before one of us got hurt because of it."

Kim suspected she didn't mean herself; she didn't really see how Shego could get hurt if she was only in it for sex. But didn't that imply she cared about her?

"If you'd explained this to me then, it would have saved me a lot of grief."

"I know. It just wasn't the best moment for a heart to heart. I'm sorry I couldn't come up with a better way. Are we cool?"

"So, um, are you saying that if we keep things strictly physical, we can keep doing it?"

"If I believed you could do that, I suppose we could be enemies with benefits, but I don't think you can. You think you have a crush on me."

"I do have a crush on you." There was no point in denying it, since they both knew it was true, but it did hit Kim that this was the first time she'd directly admitted her feelings to Shego. It should have felt scarier, but she trusted Shego not to use it to hurt her.

"Maybe. Or maybe you've convinced yourself of that because you can't admit to yourself that you're just lusting after the bad girl."

"What about you? Are you lusting for me?"

"Would you believe me if I said 'no'"?

"Not really." After all, she had slept with her, twice. Or maybe three times, depending on how one counted it.

"Mmm. It's not the same, though. I'm not into you the way you are into me, you're just another hot girl to me." Shego looked her up and down, blatantly biting her lip. "But I really like the new outfit. The way those cargo pants hid your legs was just criminal. The way you look now, all sweaty and disheveled, I could just throw you against the wall and have my way with you."

"Would you?" The question came out hoarse. Kim had never felt the kind of lust Shego inspired in her for anyone else. It was made all the more insistent by the knowledge that she might actually get the chance to slake it.

"No. You have a partner waiting for you, and I'm not convinced you'd be content with just sex. Such a shame."

"How could I convince you, if you won't even give me a chance?"

"Eh, give it time. It's not like high school crushes last that long. Maybe I'll be tempted to give it another go when you become a wild college girl."

"So you do think of me as a schoolgirl."

"Yeah, but a sexy one."

Another awkward silence followed as the women stared at each other.

"Uh, Shego... do we both just walk away here?"

"Yep. You have to collect your useless sidekick, and I have a coconut scrub waiting for me. Catch you later, Kimmie."

Kim watched Shego walk away, her eyes hungrily devouring her delectable figure, desperately trying to commit every detail to memory. Kim was sure Shego was putting some extra swing into her hips for her benefit. She felt incredibly horny and was tempted to do something about it right then and there. Propriety triumphed, however, and she resolved to save it for later, when she had ditched Ron and was alone in the shower.

She was going to have a long, long shower.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

When Kim returned to school on Monday morning, she was met by Monique at the edge of the parking lot. The attractive African-American girl walked up to her the moment she got out of her car.

"Hey, Kim. How was the weekend?"

"Hi, Monique." Kim considered her answer as she extracted her backpack. "By weekend, do you mean the mission?"

"Mostly. How did the new clothes hold up in action?"

"Oh, they worked very nicely. Shego liked them, especially on me." Kim looked around to make absolutely certain they weren't being overheard. "I think she would have liked them on her bedroom floor, too."

"So, things went as planned, then." Oddly, Monique didn't sound very excited for her. She couldn't be jealous, could she? A strange thrill went through Kim at the thought. She took a moment to compose herself.

"Well, it was a bit of good news, a bit of bad news. She said she didn't mean everything she said to me when she ended things, but she's not interested in a relationship."

"Well, a relationship with someone like her would be a majorly bad idea. You know that, right?"

"I guess... she said she wouldn't mind occasional, uh, fun, if that was all it was."

"Do you think you could live with that kind of an arrangement?"

"She is so incredibly hot, Monique."

"That's not an answer. Is that enough?"

"I... don't know. But I'm only eighteen—well, practically eighteen. The point is, I have time to live a little before I settle down, right?"

"I think you are trying to justify making a bad call. She's not a healthy crush, girl. I'm pretty sure she's also the reason for that shiner you're trying to hide."

Kim decided it was time to change the subject. "Oh, thanks again for helping me with the outfit."

"As you say: 'no big'. You know I'm always down for helping my BFF. I just wish you'd have let me design it, too. I was dying to get a crack at it. I have a stack of sketches in my room."

"I know. I'm sorry, Monique, but I just felt like I needed a more experienced designer. Next time I update my look I'll talk to you first."

"You'd better. So, who'd you got to do it? I've been racking my brain for a while now, but I just don't recognize the style. Was it anyone famous?"

"Uh, they have some, uh, notoriety, I guess."

"Talk to me, girl. Fashion is my thing. I'm not just a glorified seamstress."

"Well, I guess you do deserve to know." Kim fell silent for a while. She tried to cover for her hesitation by holding the door open for Monique.

"Hello? Kim?"

"It was the Fashionistas." Kim couldn't help looking a little guilty.

"The Fashionistas. Who we put in jail."

"Them. I visited them in prison."

"How did you even get them to cooperate? I don't think they like you much."

"Well, they were intrigued by the challenge of designing my new mission clothes."

"You're deflecting. What did they want?"

Kim looked sheepish. "They wanted me to break them in by breaking them out."

"What? You have got to be kidding me, Kim."

"I bargained it down from there! I put in a good word with the authorities, negotiated some concessions from the warden."

Monique was silent for a while. "Why them, Kim?"

"Uh, they were the first designers I thought of that I had access to."

"As opposed to me? No, I think you went to them because they're criminals, so that you could strike a pose for Shego and go: 'Oh, it's no big, just a little something my pals in prison threw together for me.' She told you schoolgirls don't hold her interest, so you are trying to be a grown up wild girl for her."

"It's not like that, Monique." Kim didn't expect Monique to actually believe her, as she'd never been a very good liar.

* * *

They walked the rest of the way to the lockers in silence. Monique was annoyed with Kim, Kim was embarrassed, and there were too many people around for a candid discussion, anyway. They reached Kim's locker, and the moment she opened it, Wade's visage appeared on the monitor built into it.

"Morning, Kim."

"Morning, Wade. What's up?"

"Bad news, I'm afraid. Adrena Lynn escaped from prison over the weekend."

"Already? How did they mess up this fast? I told them how to deal with her powers."

"I'm not sure what exactly happened, all the cameras were down for the escape, but... eyewitness reports suggest Hego was involved."

"Isn't he a hero?" Monique looked confused.

"Yes he is." Kim grimaced. "I think I know what happened. Hego heard about Lynn's glow, and came to visit her. He probably tried to recruit her, since he feels his family was given the glow to fight the good fight. Adrena spun some sob-story that got him to lower his guard enough for her to control him."

"Maybe. Like I said, the cameras were down, but there is a great big hole in the side of Lynn's cell. Is Hego strong enough to do that?"

"Oh, yeah. I had that glow for a while. When I turned it on, it felt like the world was made of cardboard. Him under Adrena's control is bad news."

"Do you think she's going to come after you again?"

"I don't think there's any doubt about it. With Hego at her call... I need to warn my family."

"I'll do that, Kim."

"Thanks, Wade. And try to locate Adrena as fast as you can, please and thank you."

"I'll get right on it." Wade disconnected without a goodbye, his face serious.

"You seem really worried, Kim. I thought you said she wasn't much of a threat."

"Not to me, not by herself. But she can control most everybody else, and with Hego she has some serious muscle." Kim extracted the books for her first class on autopilot, lost in thought. She turned back to Monique. "I don't think Adrena knows you. You'd better keep some distance until I get this handled."

"It's sweet that you're worried, but I don't abandon my friends."

"I appreciate that, but this is something I'm equipped to handle, and Adrena's power means instant hostages—or minions."

"That danger thing again, huh?"

"Yes. Please, stay out of the line of fire."

"Okay, Kim, if you insist. No hanging out until the crazy girl is back behind bars. But we still have some classes together, you know."

"That's all right, but if a big man dressed in blue comes through the wall, you don't know me." Kim glanced at the clock on the wall. "Speaking of classes, we need to hurry or we'll be tardy."

* * *

Kim and Monique rushed for the class they shared, but they hadn't needed to hurry. Minutes passed with no teacher in sight. Monique pulled her chair next to Kim's desk.

"So, this thing with Lynn sidetracked our discussion. What are you going to do about the you-know-who?"

"Monique, I don't want to talk about that in class," Kim hissed.

"Eh, everybody's busy with their own affairs, they aren't going to eavesdrop." Monique still lowered her voice and leaned closer.

"I don't know, Monique. What do you think I should do?"

"Are you really asking me?"

"I just did, didn't I?"

"Yeah, but are you seriously going to listen to what I have to say?"

"I need some advice, and you're the only one I trust with this."

"I think you should forget her."

"That's not going to be easy."

"She was that good, huh?"

"Yeah." A foolish smile graced Kim's face for a moment. "And there's the fact that I will keep running into her."

"But that's work, right? Didn't you agree to keep that separate?"

"Well, it's not always that simple." A thought occurred to Kim. "I really need to contact her about the jailbreak. She might want to be involved. She was a big help the last time."

"I think it's you who wants to be involved. This isn't just an excuse to get close to her again, is it?"

"No!" Kim looked around, but no one seemed to have paid any attention to her little outburst. She lowered her voice again. "She has a grudge against Adrena, and even though she claims she doesn't like her brother, I doubt she wants to leave him as Adrena's puppet."

"I guess that makes sense. You don't have ulterior motives?"

"Well... it would give me an opportunity to spend some more time with her, maybe make her see what I have to offer."

"No, bad Kim. There's only one thing she wants from you, so unless you want to be her occasional chew toy, I suggest you keep things professional."

"I know you're right, Monique, but I just..."

Kim sighed. Acting clingy probably wouldn't convince Shego that she wasn't trying to pursue a schoolgirl crush. The smart thing to do would be to do as Monique suggested, and put the fling behind her. Even if she wanted to continue it on a purely physical basis, acting cool was probably a good move.

"You are right. I will keep my distance. From now on, I'll only interact with Shego on missions, and there won't be any fraternization."

"I'm proud of you, Kim. That's the..." Monique was cut off as the door opened and Mr. Barkin walked in. The students scrambled to return to their seats. Mr. Barkin might or might not be fair, but he was certainly tough.

"All right, listen up, people. Miss Carlson has been involved in an accident, and will be unable to teach this class for the time being."

"Oh, man, will you be taking over this class, too?"

"No talking out of turn, Brown. No, I will not be teaching this class. Miss Carlson gave us very little notice, but we have managed to arrange a substitute teacher for you. May I present: Miss Go."

Shego walked into the classroom with a friendly smile, dressed in a conservative jacket and a short skirt, her normally loose hair contained by a hair band. Flabbergasted Kim turned to look at Monique, who looked back at her, equally bewildered, her mouth also hanging open.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Adrena Lynn followed Hego along the dark back alleys of Go City, her gaze nailed to his broad back. She was confused, angry, and afraid. She didn't know where they were headed, or what the Team Go brothers wanted her for. At least she was out of prison and the special restraints she was forced to wear if she wanted to leave her cell. Hego's brothers, Mego and Wego, brought up the rear, making sure she didn't try to slip away.

She had tried to control them, of course. She'd been most successful with Wego. She had hit both twins at the same time, but rather than gaining control of them, she had gained control of fresh duplicates that popped into existence from the red-clad teens, only to vanish as soon as Wego figured out what was going on. When she'd turned her power on Mego, his outline had turned blurry for a while, and then he'd given her a smug grin, quite free of her control. She still didn't know what had happened there. She was itching to give it another go.

The primary reason she didn't dare was Hego. When her orange glow had impacted him, the sphere had popped like a soap bubble; Adrena hadn't known that was even possible. The big man had never even noticed. The other wielders of the glow could clearly somehow shrug off the effects of hers, but at least the rest of them had to work for it. Only Kim Possible, for whatever reason, had ignored it as thoroughly as Hego, but even then the orbs had just bounced off, like they did when they hit something solid enough, like the walls of her prison cell.

Hego hadn't paid much attention to those walls, either. When it became obvious her power was useless against Team Go, Adrena had meekly followed their order to follow them. She didn't want to get on the bad side of a man who could tear reinforced concrete like paper and crush cars like tin cans. She just would have liked to know what the deal was.

She yelped as someone pinched her bottom.

"Hey, toots, pay attention."

Shaken out of her brooding by the unwelcome contact, Adrena wheeled on Mego and tried to slap him. He evaded the attack by shrinking. She aimed a kick at him, but he danced out of the way and grew back to full size, leering at her.

"You're about to meet the boss. Do try to behave."

"The boss?"

"In here." Mego indicated the side door of a large, rather nondescript building. Hego and Wego had already entered.

* * *

Adrena entered the building and was herded through a short corridor by several copies of Wego. She found herself in a large, dimly lit space which reminded her of a TV studio. A quick look at the ceiling revealed metal supports running along it, which only reinforced that impression. A voice addressed her from the catwalk running along one side of the hall.

"Welcome to my humble abode, dear. My name is Electronique."

The woman was obviously a supervillain. She was dressed in a dark jumpsuit decorated with circuit patterns and thick wires, and wore dark glasses with rims so thick they looked more like goggles. Her bluish-gray hair stuck up like that of Bride of Frankenstein, and it crackled with electricity. Her skin had a similar shade, unless that was just the effect of the shadows. A mad scientist, probably, though she had a much better figure than most brainy types. She had an accent that to Adrena sounded Eastern European.

"And what the hell do you want with me?"

"Oh, when I heard of you I simply had to arrange to meet you. Adrena Lynn, the girl who stole a Glow." Electronique leaned on the railing. "I also liked the way you went after your nemesis the moment you got out of prison. I think we are going to get along marvelously. As long as you understand your position, of course."

"Yeah, we really need to see about that."

Adrena activated her glow. As soon as the orange spheres formed around her hands, she willed them towards the woman. Electronique didn't attempt to dodge, but the circuitry on her suit lit up, accompanied by the whine of a charge building up. A shimmering field formed around her, crackling with power in the same way as her hair.

The orange spheres were repulsed by the field. Adrena directed them back only to see them bounce away once more. Electronique extended an arm towards Adrena, and a bolt of lightning leaped from her fingers towards her. The electric shock brought Adrena to her knees, and the orange orbs vanished as she lost control of her power.

"Did you really think I'd let you near me if I wasn't protected against your mind-control power?"

"Oh, for crying out loud! Is there anyone my power works on?" Adrena struggled to her feet.

"Of course there are, my dear; over six billion, I think. There just aren't any in this room."

"How can you have protection against my power? We've never even met."

"I've faced Team Go quite a few times, and I've learned much about the Go Glow. I was fairly confident I understood how to shield myself from you."

"It seems to me like you took a bit of a gamble."

"Not as big as you, my dear." Electronique gestured beside Adrena, who looked that way to find Hego standing closer than she'd realized. "My darling Hego was under orders to crush your skull to pulp if I succumbed to your power."

A shudder went through Adrena and she swallowed, her throat dry. Hego leaned towards her and whispered loudly, shielding his mouth with the back of his hand. "I wouldn't have actually bashed your head in. I was just going to give you a little tap to knock you under."

Adrena didn't find that very comforting. She remembered how those hands had punched through solid walls, and wasn't sure he could judge his strength well enough to not kill her accidentally.

"Ah, dear Hego, tenderhearted as always. Well, we shall let that be for the while. Now, tell me, Adrena, do you understand where you stand?"

"Do I work for you, too?"

"Well, let us call you a junior partner. I think you might have potential, my dear. If you perform to satisfaction, you might find this a mutually pleasurable arrangement."

"Are you coming on to me?"

"I fear you have been in prison for too long, dear girl. Then again, so have I, although quite by my lonesome. Remind me to tell you about my escape some day. Now, do you have any reasonable questions?" As she talked, Electronique abandoned her perch on the catwalk, and made her way down metal stairs.

"How come Team Go is working for you? I'm pretty sure they used to be heroes."

"So they did, until quite recently. In fact, you are indirectly to thank for this happy state of affairs." Electronique sat down on a couch set against a wall, under the catwalk, and indicated a chair opposite it. "But do sit down, we have a lot to talk about."

Adrena sat down as directed, reflecting that Electronique was living up to the villain stereotype: she certainly liked to talk. Then again, if she had really spent some time in solitary confinement, it was perhaps understandable that she made use of a captive audience.

"Uh, what do you want us to do?" Adrena turned to see Team Go standing around, shuffling their feet awkwardly. They looked a lot less intimidating now.

"You boys can make yourself scarce; girl talk, you know. Why don't you get some rest? You must be tired after spending all night on the road."

"There was also the prison break."

"Yes, yes. Run along now."

The brothers left without another word. Adrena wondered if maybe she ought to try to control Electronique again. Her shielding might not be impregnable, and appeared to require a charge-up time.

"Please don't try anything foolish. I'd hate to have to chastise you again."

"I wasn't thinking about anything like that."

"Of course you were, but never mind that. I've been quite anxious to meet you. I have you to thank for my sweet revenge on Team Go, after all."

"So you said. Did my power to give you an idea for some freaky mind-control gadget or something?"

"Nothing so crass. When I made my escape and started planning my revenge, I learned of your coup when I was doing research. You can understand I was intrigued when I heard about a previously unknown fragment of the Go Comet. I have been fascinated by the Go Glow for the longest time. "

"It got destroyed, though."

"Obviously. I doubt you'd have your power if it hadn't. Anyway, I broke in to the facility to find out if they had any more samples, and to review their research notes."

"You just broke in Jack Hench's lab like it was nothing?" Adrena remembered her own trials in putting a crew together for the job.

"I'd just broken out of a special non-conducting plastic prison designed solely to contain me. That _was_ nothing, by comparison. I'm quite good with electronics, security systems included. You might have noticed my handiwork during your extraction."

Adrena just looked at her dumbly.

"I gave the boys a device to knock out the cameras and the alarms. Do pay more attention next time."

"Sorry, I was a little distracted by a superhero bursting into my cell."

"Well, never mind. I didn't find any evidence they'd ever had more than the one fragment, but I did find their notes. They were disappointing, for the most part: they never even learned the nature of the power granted by the orange Glow. But at least their measurements gave me a good idea of how to block it. My new shield worked well enough, don't you think?"

"This would be a very different discussion if it hadn't."

"True. You'd have a concussion and be in restraints."

Adrena decided to change the subject. "So how does that get you Team Go?"

"Ah, I was getting to that. Since I was there, I decided to have a look around to see if they had anything else interesting. I did find one delightful gadget they called 'Attitudinator'. Clearly this Jack Hench person needs a better marketing department."

"It does attitude adjustments?"

"More or less. Apparently it was originally marketed as a way for villains to achieve their true potential by eliminating unwanted character traits like compassion and fairness. I obviously saw much more interesting potential in the device, and stole it. With some clever work that I'm very much afraid you'd be unable to appreciate, I created my Reverse Polarizer."

"And it, what, turns good guys evil?" Adrena was interested in spite of herself. Maybe she should have stolen this Attitudinator instead. Turning Kim evil would have ruined the annoying hero's reputation quite nicely.

"The original design was clumsy and invasive, rewiring much of the brain. It occurred to me that I could achieve most of the effect with fraction of the effort by focusing on reversing certain key personality traits, mostly associated with agreeableness—do you know Big Five theory?"

Adrena looked on blankly. Electronique sighed.

"It turns good guys evil and vice versa. My more elegant design works at a range, practically instantly, and can neatly revert the changes, if necessary. Oh, and it also makes people more... pliant. I wanted to make Team Go my henchmen, after all."

"What about Shego? You want to collect her, too?"

"Ah, yes. Shego. It seems there have been some developments since my incarceration I wasn't aware of. I think I might have unintentionally turned her back into a productive member of the society.

Adrena burst into laughter. "Well, that serves her right. But I thought you did your research? How did you mess that one up?"

"She teamed up with an up and coming young hero, Kim Possible, to bring you to justice! How was I supposed to deduce from that that she had turned evil and quit the team?"

"Just how long were you locked up?"

"That is irrelevant. But for the time being, Shego's whereabouts are unknown."

"I thought your thing made people tame."

"Well, more tractable, but she wasn't going to want to associate with villains after being turned good. I'm sure she'll become a model employee for some respectable company, or maybe a perfect little homemaker for some upstanding young man."

Adrena laughed again. "I guess that's revenge enough for someone like her."

"Well, it would be, if the old Shego knew what she were to become. It loses some poignancy when the victim is happy."

"Doesn't that apply to her brothers, too?"

"I don't think they're precisely happy, but you do have a point. Maybe I need to change them back, every once in a while, so they can contemplate their present station in life in despair. Lucky I included that function, no?"

"You really go all in for this revenge business, don't you?"

"After thwarting me for years, they were responsible for locking me away in my prime. I find it quite satisfying to have made them my evil little henchpeople."

"God, I so want to do that to Kim freaking Possible. Why won't my power work on her?"

"That is intriguing, is it not? After reviewing the research notes from the lab, for all the good that did, and what little information was available about your exploits, I formed the hypothesis that, quite uniquely, your Glow infests other people. I further surmised that it can't do it to somebody who already has a Glow, which explains your inability to control my new minions."

"And that bitch, Shego. At least it made her scream."

"Mm, yes, I was wondering if maybe it had a more interesting effect on her. Unlike her brothers, her Glow is centered on her hands, rather than permeating her entire body."

"You really have studied them, haven't you?"

"It is important to know one's enemy. Really, you could have spent at least a few days studying Kim Possible before launching your ill-considered attempt. You might have been more successful."

"I did! I scoped out her haunts and social circles and everything. It would have worked perfectly, if she hadn't been immune to my power, and her freaky green girlfriend hadn't interfered. Why is she immune?"

"Did you know Kim Possible once possessed Hego's blue Glow?"

"I didn't. How did she manage that?"

"Aviarius, another villain vexed by Team Go, hatched a plan to steal their Glows. He is a senile old fool, but he does have moments of technical brilliance. He fashioned a device that could transfer the Glow from one person to another—how I wish I could have studied it before it got destroyed. Of course, because he is a doddering old fool, he fouled things up and the Glow ended in Possible rather than him. Perhaps there is some residual effect from that experience that protects her from your Glow."

"I can't believe the luck of that brat!"

"Or perhaps she, too, was affected by the fragment that gave you your power. Oh, I would like to give that young woman a very thorough examination." Electronique gave the word 'very' a purring emphasis that sounded suggestive to Adrena. She also had to wonder if that sentiment extended to her, too.

"You know, you do sound gay."

"Surely you jest. I may be flush with the success of my revenge, but given how long I spent in prison I'm not gay at all."

"How does that... no. No, I refuse to believe you are too old to know what the word means."

"You flatter me, my dear. You also seem rather preoccupied with other women's sexuality. I don't wish to make unfounded assumptions, but it does rather suggest something about you."

"Whatever. So, you want to collect Shego and study Kim, and I want to teach them both a lesson. It seems like we have a common cause?"

"Clearly we do, darling. I presume you want to go after Kim Possible first."

Adrena sensed danger, and decided to play it safe. "If I'm the junior partner, I suppose I can defer to your choice."

"Very wise. Our first order of business is, I think, to find where Shego has gone to ground, but that can wait until morning. It is very late, and I need my beauty sleep. Come, my darling, let us retire for the night."

Adrena gave Electronique a sharp look as she stood up, and received an exasperated eye roll in return. At least, that's what she assumed it was from the way she tossed her head; she couldn't actually see Electronique's eyes.

"There is a room prepared for you. It locks from the outside, I'm afraid, but once you have proven your loyalty, we can maybe come to a sleeping arrangement that is more to your satisfaction."

"Oh, come on! Now you are just doing it on purpose!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Kim Possible stalked Shego through the halls of Middleton High School. Shego didn't appear to have a care in the world as she navigated the corridors with a distracted smile on her face. When Kim turned a corner and found the corridor momentarily empty aside from her and Shego, she pounced. She roughly pushed the surprised Shego into a supply closet and closed the door after them. She had, incidentally, fantasized about doing precisely that on more than one slow school day.

"Kimmie! What are you doing?"

"No, what are you doing?"

"I'm trying to find my next class. There was a surprising number of subjects that required a substitute. I'm afraid I'm not quite oriented yet."

"Why are you playing a substitute teacher at my school? What are you planning?"

"I'm not planning to do anything but what the school hired me to do. I am the new substitute. Please, I'll explain everything later, but now I need to get to class. I don't want to mess up on my first day."

"Not until you explain. The last time we met you tried to give me a nose job, and now you're, what, under cover? What's with the outfit?" Kim would have liked to think she was here for her, but based on their last conversation it seemed unlikely.

"My old hero clothes are hardly appropriate for class." Shego gave Kim a pleading look, with no trace of maleficence or guile. "Please, I promise to explain everything after school."

Kim relented and moved from blocking the door. "Fine. I'll give you one chance. But I'll be watching you."

Shego left the closet with a grateful smile. Kim made good on her promise as Shego disappeared down the hall, though her gaze mostly focused on her backside.

* * *

"Okay, that was Shego, right?" Kim turned to face Monique, who had managed to sneak up on her while she was lost in contemplation.

"Uh, yeah. I think."

"Was there some point of doubt?"

"She didn't really act like herself. She was all... nice."

Monique sighed. "One day, Kim, you will meet a nice girl who interests you."

"What do you mean by that?" Was Monique maybe talking about herself? Had she missed some signals?

"That between her and Bonnie, you seem to have a thing for mean."

"I'm so over Bonnie."

"Really? You seemed like you were joined at the hip the other week."

"Monique, we were joined at the hip." Literally, thanks to Professor Dementor's device and Ron's clumsiness, which Monique knew well enough.

"That must have been awkward."

"You know it was awkward. Why are you bringing it up now?"

"Because it just occurred to me you never said if anything happened between you two."

"Um, define 'anything'?"

"Yeah, sounds like you're totally over her."

"Look, it was a very extraordinary situation. It's not going to happen again. Besides, it was all physical."

It's not like Kim had planned to get stuck to Bonnie, any more than she had planned to share a cabin with her during the Spirit Stick Competition. These things just seemed to happen to her. She resolved to never mention that episode to Monique. What happens in Camp Wannaweep stays in Camp Wannaweep, especially if it involves her hot ex she is totally over.

"Have you been physical with Ron?"

"No... it just seems like it would raise the stakes a lot, you know?"

"I think I do. Why do you date him, Kim? Do you want it to go somewhere, or do you just want to date someone until you find the one you really want?"

"You make me sound like a horrible person."

"It's not that, it's natural to want to be with someone. But you're both my friends and I don't want to see either of you hurt. You need to decide if you really want to date him, or if he's just your designated rebound guy. It's not fair to just string him along."

"I know, and I don't want to hurt him. I like him. We've been friends forever. For a while I thought it'd just be natural for our relationship to mature as we get older."

"But you're really not into him at all, are you?"

"Well, not in the sense I'm into Shego, no. But I know he likes me, he's the one who wanted to date me in the first place. How could I tell him I don't feel the same way?"

"I'm afraid you're on your own, there. You got yourself into this mess; you get yourself out of it."

"Thanks a bunch. Can we get back to the Shego sitch now?"

"Okay. So why was she teaching our class? Did you two decide to act out some teacher fantasy?"

"I don't have teacher fantasies. Well, I didn't use to have teacher fantasies."

"Kim, focus."

"Uh, she claims she's the new substitute teacher."

"That seems like a rather drastic career change for a supervillain."

"Yeah, it's weird. I'll get the story out of her later."

"You're just going to leave her on her own?"

"She said she's not here for any nefarious scheme."

"And she obviously couldn't be lying."

"I know her. If she was up to something evil, she'd have taunted me with it in some way. There's something I don't understand going on."

"I hope you're right. But you have to understand why I might doubt your motives when it comes to her."

"Hey, I'm not about to let her commit crimes just because I want to... you know." Kim guiltily recalled aiding and abetting her escape because she wanted to get her alone.

"Well, that's an improvement." Apparently Monique remembered it too. "I'm going to trust your judgment for now, and head to class. I'm pretty sure you have one, too."

"Oh. Right."

* * *

"Okay, first thing: I haven't hit my head or anything," Ron Stoppable said as he sat down across from Kim at the cafeteria table.

"Congratulations."

Kim wondered if she ought to be less sarcastic with Ron. Good girls didn't give their boyfriends grief, right? Then again, Kim reflected, she wasn't Ron's girlfriend as such; they'd just gone on a few dates. Quite a few dates, in fact, but they'd never agreed they were going steady. So really, she didn't need to break up with Ron or anything. She just needed to make him understand they wouldn't be an item. As soon as she figured out how to go about it without needlessly hurting him.

"And I'm not delusional. Am I?"

"No more than usual."

"Okay, so, you might want to sit down for this one, KP."

"Ron, I am sitting down."

"Always thinking ahead, aren't you, KP?" Was Ron mocking her? "Anyway, I'm pretty sure I saw Shego on my way here."

"You probably did. She's been here all morning."

"She has? You knew? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Ron, I should have. It just slipped my mind." How could it not have occurred to her to tell Ron? Well, Ron probably would have overreacted, anyway, and she had the situation in hand.

"Why is she here, and why haven't you done anything about it?"

"She's the new substitute teacher."

"What."

"I know. I don't know."

"Um, which one is it, KP?"

"English, and some other class, too. Maybe Civics?"

"KP." Ron pointed at himself. "Serious face. If you're going to turn this into a comedy routine, I'm going to find some other fine lady to grace with my company." Kim almost wished he would, and felt guilty about the thought.

"Sorry, Ron. I know it's weird. I don't know the whole story. She promised to explain it to me later."

"Does she do that a lot?"

"Confide in me?"

"No, quote classic scifi shows."

"What did you just say about comedy routines, Ron?"

"If you don't mind me saying, KP, you seem a little quick to trust your mortal enemy."

"Well, I wouldn't say mortal..."

"Flaming Hands of Death, KP! And how many times has she strapped you down to some deathtrap?"

"That's on Dr. Drakken's orders." Kim suddenly pictured Shego tying her down when it was just the two of them. It probably wouldn't lead to death. Well, maybe a little death.

"KP?"

Kim realized she'd drifted off, her fork frozen in mid-air, and her thighs pressed together. She finished taking a bite and forced her attention back on Ron.

"Uh, sorry. I got distracted."

"I guess Shego can have that effect." Ron shuddered. "Just imagine if she got her hands on you."

"Believe me, I was."

"Now's not the time to be morbid, KP. Lunch time is a rare, hallowed oasis in the desert of the school day, and should be enjoyed to its fullest."

"Uh... okay." Kim watched Ron dig into his food with more apparent gusto than the cafeteria food really merited. "You don't seem too disturbed by Shego being on the loose, after all."

"Can't worry now. Eating."

Kim smiled in spite of herself. "Sure, Ron."

* * *

Kim waited by the door to the parking lot. She didn't know if Shego had a car or not, but she knew most teachers left this way. She nodded to the teachers as they left, most of them surprised to see her here. Shego was among the last to emerge, escorted by Mr. Barkin. Kim assumed he was showing her around, her being new. It was surprisingly considerate of the abrasive teacher. Perhaps he was nicer with other faculty.

"Oh! Kimmie." Shego spotted her the moment she stepped out the door. Her demeanor was surprisingly hesitant.

"Sh..." Kim cut herself off at the empathic shake of the head from Shego. Right, she probably hadn't introduced herself as a wanted criminal. "Miss Go."

"Possible, what are you doing here? I didn't think any student wanted to hang around the school any longer than they needed to."

"Oh, there was something I wanted to discuss with Miss Go. School stuff, you know?"

Mr. Barkin looked at his watch. "This better not take long. I have things to do."

"Oh, you don't need to wait around, Stevie." Kim didn't know what to make of her calling him 'Stevie', so she decided to just ignore it.

"But I was going to offer to drop you off at your place. You know, since you don't have a car?"

"Oh, that's all right, Mr. Barkin. I can give her a ride."

"Students do not give teachers rides, Possible." What was his problem with her? Kim didn't think her offer merited the level of hostility he was radiating.

"Oh, I'd be happy to get a ride from you, Kimmie." Kim very much wanted to say that the feeling was mutual. If they'd been alone, she would have. "I'll see you tomorrow, Stevie." Mr. Barkin left, grumbling to himself.

"Right, are you ready to explain, now?"

"I guess so. Can we get some coffee while we talk?"

"Fine."

Kim led Shego to her car. Shego scanned the parking lot as they walked.

"Where's Ronald?"

"Ron?" Kim couldn't actually recall Shego ever referring to Ron by his name before, and she certainly hadn't expected her to be as formal as to use his full name. It was just weird.

"Isn't he joining us?"

"I thought we would keep the discussion private?" Kim's voice came out more hesitant than she'd intended. She had assumed Shego wouldn't want anyone else present, but apparently she had been wrong.

"Okie Dokie, Kimmie."

Kim blinked. Just what in the world had happened to Shego?


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Adrena Lynn's day began with the most absurd breakfast of her life.

To start with, the dining room, such as it was, was partitioned off from the rest of the studio with movable walls. The walls were only six feet high, doing nothing to hide the high roof or the walls of the large space they were in. In the middle of the ad hoc room was a perfectly ordinary, and fairly nice, dining table.

Electronique sat at the head of the table, dressed in her usual costume and wearing her white-rimmed shades. On one side of the table sat Hego and Mego, with the Wego twins facing them on the opposite side. All four men were masked and wearing their costumes. Adrena was seated at the other end of the table, facing Electronique.

"More tea, my dear? Or perhaps you would prefer some hot coffee?"

"Coffee would be nice, thank you." Adrena would have preferred something stronger, but it was probably a good idea to keep a clear head, given her obviously insane company.

Electronique gave a signal and one of the Wego popped a fresh copy, who promptly went to the coffeemaker set at a side table and returned with the coffee pot. Adrena leaned back while he poured, wary of him spilling coffee on her, accidentally on purpose. She'd seen enough of the Wego on her way here to know they were given to pranks like that.

"Do the clothes fit all right?"

"Yes, thanks." Adrena would have asked how Electronique got her measurements, but she wasn't sure she wanted to know. At least she was rid of her prison overalls. She was also relieved, and obscurely disappointed, that Electronique hadn't insisted on dressing her in something inappropriately sexy.

"So what is it you want from me, exactly?"

"We don't discuss business at the breakfast table. Have patience, darling. We'll get to that soon enough."

Adrena abandoned her questioning and continued to eat in silence. She didn't feel like making small talk. She also continued to ignore Team Go's inane banter. Electronique appeared to be ignoring them, too, eyes locked on her. She still suspected the older woman was into her. She decided she could work with that.

Electronique put down her cup and stood up to signal the end of the meal. Copies of Wego hurried to clear the table.

"Come along now, darling. It's time to discuss the particulars of our partnership."

* * *

Adrena got up and followed Electronique out of the dining room. Once out the notional door they were in the middle of the studio, empty space stretching all around them. Electronique led them towards the arrangement of sofas and chairs tucked against the wall they'd sat at the previous night.

"Love what you've done with the place."

"As a recently escaped supervillain I have certain constraints on my choices of residence, but I do try to include some amenities."

"Uh, whatever you say. Isn't this location a little... brazen?"

"Oh, my girl, using abandoned facilities is in the best tradition of villainy. Admittedly, a disused warehouse would have been more traditional, but the one I found was already occupied, and this place had better wiring." Electronique sat down and Adrena copied her. "Besides, the local police are moving with some caution in their search. They aren't terribly keen to take me on, let alone the entire Team Go gone bad."

"Almost the entire Team Go."

Electronique made an annoyed grumble that was actually rather cute. "Quite. Which brings us to you, my dear."

"You're sending me after her? I would like to get a rematch."

"Not quite. We'd need to locate her first, and I don't even have an idea where to start. No, I want you to assume her intended position."

"Would that be kneeling between your legs?"

"You have a one-track mind. No. Her position on Team Go. Their performance has been a little lacking. It appears that the absence of Shego adversely affects their team dynamic."

"I don't want to sell myself short, but I've never worked with them, and I don't even know a lot about them. I'm not sure what I can do with them." Humility didn't come naturally to Adrena, but she suspected Electronique might not react well to groundless bragging.

"A woman aware of at least some of her limitations; how very refreshing. Really, I'm hoping you will grow into the role. I don't expect perfection from the word go."

"You really are serious about making me your partner?"

"I think I could use someone to watch my back. I don't actually trust you do that, yet, nor am I certain you have what it takes. But you intrigue me... your power intrigues me, and I'm prepared to give you an opportunity to demonstrate your worth. And you, my dear, could definitely use a mentor."

Adrena had to begrudgingly agree. She was pretty much committed to a career in villainy by now, and having someone more experienced to show her the ropes would give her a leg-up. Her solo effort hadn't ended so well.

"Yeah, maybe this will work. What do you want me to do first?"

"A test, I think. A test of both your competence and your loyalty."

"Go on." Adrena promised herself that she'd put the smug bitch in her place one day. For now, though, she'd play along.

"I want you to take Team Go and go to Middleton to spy on young Kim Possible."

"Really?" Adrena had thought Shego came first on Electronique's list of priorities, but she wasn't going to argue.

"You are only going to do surveillance. You will not engage her."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it. What am I spying her for?"

"Mostly I want to see if you will follow orders, and if you can keep Team Go in line. But I do expect a report on Miss Possible. I want you to learn about her strengths and her weaknesses, her routines and her associates. Once you think you have learned all you need, or you are discovered, you will return, and we will discuss our plan of attack."

"Spy on Kim, keep the boys in check, don't be seen. Got it. Any advice?"

"I was hoping you'd ask, darling. There are so many things I can teach you." Electronique gave Adrena a teeth-baring smile. She had nice teeth. "I also have a collection of delightful little toys you might appreciate. I will provide you with hands-on instruction in their use before you leave."

Adrena suspected Electronique was messing with her again, but she felt excited. A private lesson from a powerful villainess followed by a road trip where she was in charge and didn't need to toady up to anyone? Only thing better would be getting revenge on Kim Possible, but she could wait a while. Things were definitely looking up.

* * *

Adrena was ready to snap. Driving all day and grabbing much too little sleep on the front seats of a van while four men snored in the back certainly contributed to her sour mood, but the most proximate reason was that Team Go were immature brats and she was tired of herding them. It didn't help that the two Wego could become four the moment she wasn't looking. Or sixteen. At the moment there were only two—that she knew of—but that was plenty bad enough.

"This is boring."

"Yeah, this sucks."

"Our orders are to just look, so that's what we're going to do." Adrena ground her teeth and tried not to get worked up. It didn't help, and she suspected the twins tried to wind her up on purpose.

"Do you, like, like to look?"

"Yeah, yeah, I bet she, like, likes to look at girls."

"Hehe, yeah, I bet she likes to spy on them nude."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, boobies; boobies!"

"Yeah, boobies are cool. Hey, show us your boobies."

"She, like, barely even has any."

"Hehe, yeah, that sucks."

"Don't listen to the those idiots, sugar tits, yours are nice enough. Size isn't everything."

"You always say that, dumbass."

"Yeah, you suck, Mego."

"Why don't we leave dumb and dumber here creeping on schoolgirls like the losers they are and go get a drink somewhere, hmm?"

Much as Adrena wanted a drink, Mego was just about the last person she wanted to share a drink with. Right after his younger brothers, but they were too young to drink, anyway. And her breasts weren't small by any reasonable measure; she'd even had a modest enhancement made, to look a little nicer on television. She comforted herself by reflecting that the losers in the back probably hadn't seen a naked woman outside of porn, and didn't know what a real one looked like. She was sure Electronique could appreciate what she had.

"We should, like, write 'free candy' at the side of the van, or something."

"Yeah, I bet we could, like, get some hot chick lured in."

"Yeah, yeah, then you could like, control her, and, like, make her show us her boobies."

"Yeah, boobies, hehe."

Adrena tried her very best to ignore the people in the back of the van, and turned towards Hego at the wheel.

"Were they dropped on their head as a kid?"

"Ah, they're not always like this, Miss Adrena. They just get a little stir crazy at times. I mean, this is pretty boring." Hego gave her a quick glance. "Also, I have to say, spying on school children from a van does make me feel a little dirty."

"We're not spying on school children. We are spying on one specific teenage hero." Of all the brothers, Hego was the most reasonable. She just couldn't feel comfortable sitting next to him in a van, no matter how well he behaved; not when she vividly remembered what he'd done to the last van they'd shared. She supposed crushing it into a ball and dropping it in a dumpster was one way to hide a getaway vehicle.

"She has classes. We should come back at the end of the school day." Hego shifted uncomfortably. "We are a little conspicuous here."

"She's a hero. She could get called on a mission at any time."

"I bet she'd get called if we, like, set something on fire."

"Yeah, yeah, fire. Fire! Hehe. Fire!"

"Fires are cool."

"Fire! Fire!"

Adrena slumped and let her head hit the dashboard. She was not going to survive the day without murdering someone. Surely no-one would miss one Wego?

* * *

"That's Shego!"

"What?" Hego's outburst startled Adrena. She didn't like the way her voice slurred. She hadn't been napping. She quickly touched the sides of her mouth to check for drool.

"There, walking with Kim to her car. She's here!"

"I should have known she'd go running to her little girlfriend when she needed help."

It had been only a couple of days since Electronique's run-in with Shego. Had she come straight here, to her supposed enemy? Adrena felt vindicated; when she had last faced them, she had been sure the two seemed a little too cozy to be just enemies reluctantly teaming against a common foe.

"Okay, let's go." Hego reached for the door handle.

"Hold up, what do you think you are doing?" Adrena grabbed hold of Hego's arm to arrest him. When her fingers didn't dent his skin at all, she realized that attempting to physically restrain Hego was a fool's errand, and quickly let go.

"We need to get sis."

"We're only here for surveillance." She indicated the directional microphone and digital camera lying on the dashboard to stress her point.

"When it comes to Kim, sure. But we have prior orders from Electronique to capture Shego."

Adrena wasn't sure what to do. She dearly wanted a rematch against Kim and Shego, especially with the rest of Team Go at her disposal. Hego clearly wanted to grab Shego right now, and his brothers would probably back him up, if only out of boredom. On the other hand, doing so would mean failing Electronique's test. She also had a valid point in that jumping the gun and attacking Kim without a solid plan had backfired on her before. Adrena wished she knew which course of action would disappoint Electronique more: going against her orders regarding Kim, or missing out on an opportunity to capture Shego.

"We'll follow them. Once they separate, we can grab Shego without interference from Kim."

Hopefully they would separate at some point. Just how close were they? At least the compromise was enough to mollify Hego, who sat back in his seat and started the van up.

"Are we there yet?"

Adrena just wished the three morons in the back would shut up.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Kim Possible sat across from Shego in a little coffeehouse near Middleton Mall, nursing a mocha and waiting for Shego to put down her espresso and start talking. Kim would have thought she'd be overjoyed to be on a coffee date with Shego, but in the event she was too distracted by the weirdness of the situation to enjoy it. Facing Shego over a table in a public place was one thing, seeing her dressed like a schoolteacher was another.

Shego put down her drink, cast one last quick look to make sure they were not being overheard, and finally started speaking. "So, I guess you aren't used to this kind of interaction with me."

"Not really. I mean, it's nice, but a little strange."

"It is, isn't it?"

The two women idly stirred their coffees for a while.

"So, uh, I promised you an explanation, right?"

"You did. I mean, I believe you when you say you aren't up to something, but..."

Kim trailed off, and another small silence ensued, finally broken by Shego.

"Okay, maybe I'll start with some context. You know I was part of a hero team, right?"

"Yeah. I met your brothers, remember?"

"Oh. You did, didn't you?"

"Are you all right?"

"I think so. Some things are just a little fuzzy. Anyway, we faced a lot of villains in our time, fighting the good fight."

"And you developed a taste for evil. I know."

"I... I don't think that's quite right. But that's not the point. One of those villains was a woman who called herself Electronique. She was one of our most dangerous enemies, but we eventually managed to get her in custody. She was bad enough they built a special facility just to hold her."

"Wow, that's impressive. You'd think I'd have heard of her before."

"Well, impressive as she was, we made sure she never got beyond Go City. And she got caught years ago, you were probably a little too young to follow the news back then."

"Maybe." Kim didn't really want to be reminded of how much younger than Shego she was.

"Now, apparently she managed to escape some time ago. I've been, uh, a little out of the loop, so I never heard about it. She kept pretty quiet, planning her revenge on us."

"So, an old enemy gets out of jail and comes after you. I can relate. Adrena Lynn just escaped, too. Actually, I meant to talk to you about that."

"Can I finish my story, first?"

"Yeah, sorry. Go ahead."

"Now, Electronique was an electronics whiz. She could turn just about any electronic device into a weapon. And if it was already a weapon, she could turn in into a better one. Do you remember Jack Hench's Attitudinator?"

"Yes." The device had been responsible for turning Ron into a surprisingly competent villain with delusions of grandeur, which had been more than a little disturbing. It had also turned Dr. Drakken into a kind, helpful soul, which had been just plain weird. "She had the Attitudinator? She used it on you?"

"Yeah, she had done some improvements to it, and she was planning on using it on all of us. She wanted to turn Team Go into her evil little helpers. I wanted nothing to do with her."

"You got turned good?"

"I... maybe? Was I really... evil? I remember doing things... working with unsavory characters, but..."

"You used to like reminding me that you were evil. But I always thought it was mostly talk, that you weren't that bad underneath it all."

"Aww, thank you, Kimmie. Anyway, with Electronique on the loose, and my brothers turned... evil, I knew I had get out of there. I didn't have a chance against all of them."

"You left your brothers at her mercy?"

"What was I supposed to do?" Shego looked pained. "I didn't know how to help them, and if I was captured, or worse, turned evil, I wouldn't be able to even try. I had to run and I had to hide."

"So you came here?"

"I thought this would be the last place anyone would think to look for me. Besides, I remembered you, Kimmie. I knew you'd help me. You will help me, won't you?"

"Yes, of course. But why are you teaching at my school?"

"Well, I needed to do something. I want you to know I'm fully accredited." Shego smiled. "I'm quite happy that I get to finally put my Child Development degree to work. I always wanted to be a teacher."

"Huh. I didn't really expect that. I do remember you mentioned that you went to college."

"Yeah, that was a pretty wild time in my life."

"More wild than your life of crime?"

"Can we not talk about that? It wasn't really me."

"But it was, wasn't it? It was what you became."

"It's not me anymore. Electronique inadvertently saved me from that nightmare. I... I don't know how I ended up like that."

"You don't remember?"

"Seriously, I don't want to talk about that."

Shego pointedly sipped her espresso. Kim wanted to learn more about Shego's past, but she realized she shouldn't push right now.

"Where are you staying? At a hotel?"

"No, I... I'm still wanted." Kim was shocked at the tears in Shego's eyes. "How will I ever... I got a room at a hostel I know here. I've stayed there before."

"I remember. You told me about it."

There was another pause and both women awkwardly drank their coffees. Kim decided to broach the other subject she wanted to discuss with Shego.

"Adrena Lynn escaped from prison last weekend. Your brother broke her out."

"What, really?"

"I thought he was under her control, but do you think it was because he was turned evil?"

"I don't know why he would do that. I'm not even sure how he learned about her. It's got to be because of her Glow."

"Do you think it might have been on the orders of this Electronique?"

"Maybe. She definitely wanted all of us to work for her."

"Your brothers being on the wrong side of the law is bad enough, but Lynn's power is trouble. It might not work on you or me, but there's no telling how many people are susceptible."

"She can only control two people at a time, right?"

"Maybe. I never saw her control more, and she only seems to have one... mind control orb per hand, but we don't really know for sure that is her limit."

"Yeah, let's not dwell on that. It's too depressing."

"You're right. We took her down before, we can do it again."

"I just wish we didn't have to fight at all. I don't like violence."

Kim nearly spit out her coffee. Of all the things she expected Shego to say, that wasn't one of them.

"You really are different, aren't you?"

"Yep. Much better, I assure you. No more moping around in some silly old lair, I'm going to turn my life around."

"That's... really nice to hear."

"Thank you, Kimmie." Shego's face fell a little. "Now I just need to figure out what to do about my criminal record."

"You aren't planning on turning yourself in, are you?"

"Do you think I should? There's enough there to put me away for the rest of my life. It just doesn't feel fair to have to throw my life away since it wasn't... it wasn't exactly me who did all those things, you know?"

"I don't really know how to look at it. I mean, you got zapped from evil to good, but that doesn't mean you are a totally different person, does it?"

"It kinda does. When I think back, trying to figure out how that other Shego got where she was, I don't understand it at all. All those things she did, all her decisions, it's like having a stranger's memories. I don't know what I was thinking. I literally don't know what led me... her to do the things she did. It's like a bad nightmare."

"Huh. I don't really know what to say."

"You're not going to turn me in, are you?"

"No, don't worry, I won't do that. I will help you, any way I can. I'm just not sure how."

"We'll figure it out. Thank you, Kimmie."

Kim fell silent again as she finished her coffee. There was one more thing very much on her mind, but she wasn't sure how to approach it, and she suspected this wasn't the right time for it. She decided to just bite the bullet and get it out in the open.

"Speaking of decisions you made, what about, uh, us?"

"Oh, I like you, Kimmie. I don't blame you at all for fighting me. You're good people."

"Thank you. But, um, that's not quite what I was going for. I meant, uh, about us... together?" It wasn't quite a coherent question, but Kim wasn't feeling quite coherent at the moment. The sides of her neck felt warm and her stomach was twisting into knots.

"Oh." Shego blushed very fetchingly. "That. Um."

"It's just that you said it'd never work between a hero and a villain, but you're not a villain anymore, are you?"

"Kimmie, what we did should never have happened. I... she shouldn't have taken advantage of you."

"Shego, I'm the one who approached you."

"Yes, but you are still so young. I'm older, and I... she should have been the responsible adult."

"We didn't do anything wrong!"

"Kimmie, the woman I was, she didn't care for you like you cared for her. She was only seeking her own pleasure. She used you and she hurt you. I am so, so sorry for that."

"I knew she didn't want to date me. I just wanted to... I just wanted her. You."

"Kimmie..."

"But you are not like that anymore. You wouldn't hurt me, would you?"

"No, of course not. I'd never be with anyone if I wasn't serious about it. But, Kimmie, I'm not going to... we can't be in a relationship."

"If you feel you're not the person you used to be, I understand if you want to get to know me first..."

"It's not that, Kimmie. I am your teacher now. I can't be involved with a student of mine."

"What? No, that's just... you're just a substitute, anyway. You're not going to be teaching me long, right?"

"I think I'd like to get a permanent position here. They're seriously understaffed, these poor students need all the help they can get. That's what's important here."

"You don't really just see me as one of your students, do you? Surely not, with all our history."

"I'm not looking to be involved in a scandal, Kimmie. Anyway, you really should date someone closer to your own age. Like your friend Ronald."

"Please don't call him Ronald. It's weirding me out."

"You're evading the issue, Kimmie. But if you're not into him, maybe someone else. What about that cute guy I saw you on a date with?"

"Josh? So over him."

"Well, maybe your friend, what was her name, Monique? If that's what you're interested in right now."

"I doubt she'd be interested." She probably wasn't interested, although Kim had been wondering about that, lately. "Can we drop this now, please?"

"Okay, Kimmie. You're the one who brought it up, anyway."

"So, uh... you're thinking of staying in Middleton long term?"

"I think so. I kinda like it here."

"Are you just going to stay at that hostel? I'm sure you could find something better."

"I'd like to, but I really need to, uh, keep a low profile."

Kim wasn't sure that teaching at the school her well-known nemesis went to qualified as low profile, but somehow it seemed to work, anyway. Refuge in audacity, perhaps.

"You know... you could stay at my place, maybe?"

"I don't know, Kimmie. That might not be a good idea."

"We have a guest room, you wouldn't need to share mine or anything." Although she would be most welcome to.

"Would your parents really be okay with a known criminal in their house?"

"I'm sure they would, once I explained the situation. It'd be much better than a hostel, and I doubt anyone would think to look for you there."

"It's kind of you to offer, but I'm not sure I could really accept the hospitality."

"Shego, if Lynn is going to come after me again, she might try to get to me through my family. I'd really appreciate it if there was somebody at hand who can fight off her power. And if she's in league with your brothers..."

"Oh, you're just looking after your family! I thought maybe you just wanted to... oh, never mind."

Kim tried to not look guilty about her family being an afterthought to having Shego near. She didn't quite succeed.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Kim Possible got into her car, alone. She felt she'd been almost successful in persuading Shego to come with her, but in the end she had decided to stay at her hostel. Why did she have to be so proper? She hadn't even consented to give her the address.

Kim knew she should just drive home. She'd see Shego again on Tuesday. She definitely shouldn't follow her; she'd be caught immediately. She wished she knew the hostel Shego was staying at, but she didn't know much about such places in Middleton. Why would she? If it was something Shego had chosen for laying low, it probably didn't have a website, either. She did, however, know where she'd dropped Shego off a few weeks ago.

Kim abandoned her car. It was much too conspicuous. She cautiously retraced the route Shego had taken after she'd left her off the last time. She suspected Shego hadn't walked straight to her destination, and it probably wasn't around the next corner, but she wasn't sure what else to do. She didn't know this part of Middleton very well, and she was reluctant to contact Wade for help. Anything regarding Shego was private for Kim. She just hoped the place would be obvious enough to spot.

Kim had walked down four blocks when a loud sound, like an explosion, caught her attention. Scanning her surroundings, she spotted a plume of dust billowing out of a construction site two blocks ahead. Shego momentarily forgotten, she sprinted towards it. Somebody needed help.

As Kim neared the construction site, she heard unmistakeable sounds of a fight in progress. A tall, solid fence surrounding the yard obscured her vision, and she started to slow down to make a cautious approach to assess the situation. Then she saw familiar glowing green projectiles hurtling into the sky and sped up again. She used a stack of empty pallets as a springboard to vault the fence. As she crested the top she spared a quick glance to make sure she had a clear landing, then started scanning the yard while still in air.

It didn't take her long to identify the party attacking Shego. Wego copies swarmed the site like a red tide, with the tall form of blue-clad Hego towering among them. Shego was trying to ward off the attack, but losing ground. Beyond the sea of Wego she spotted Adrena Lynn standing on a stack of metal beams, shouting orders and encouragement to Team Go. She looked out of place in her civilian clothes, though her hands were lit up in orange.

It was immediately obvious to Kim that Shego was in trouble. She seemed unwilling to go all out against her brothers, and they were quickly hemming her in towards the corner of the lot. Wego seemed intent on just dogpiling her, while Hego worked from range, trying to limit her movement by throwing things at her. It spoke to her skill that she had escaped being overwhelmed so far. Mego occasionally popped up for a second among the Wego, probably attempting to find a route through the shifting maze of legs to ambush Shego.

None of the combatants had spotted Kim yet; it had only taken her seconds to identify the situation and decide on a plan. She drew her trusty grapple gun and aimed at the upper floors of the skeleton of a building taking shape on the lot, even as she sprang up the side of a construction vehicle to gain elevation. She jumped wide as the grapple found purchase, to give herself a trajectory that would swing around the corner of the building and towards where Shego was maneuvering. When her outstretched arm made contact with surprised Shego, she activated the mechanism to retract the cable to pull them higher, where the unfinished floors would limit movement and make it harder for Team Go to box them in.

Shego clung to her as she'd hoped, but the electric motor wasn't strong enough to lift their combined weight, and the added inertia of Shego shortened the arc of her swing. They barely cleared the corner of the building, only gaining a couple of dozen feet on Wego.

"Right, time for a plan B."

"And what is that?"

"Run."

"It's what I've been trying to do."

Kim turned to flee, dragging Shego with her. She was slower than Kim expected, and it took her a while to realize that Shego wasn't dressed for the occasion. Her skirt was too tight to allow much freedom of movement, and she was wearing heels.

"Don't just gawk like idiots, get them." Lynn gestured towards the women, urging Team Go on.

Kim had known that Hego, at least, was involved in Lynn's escape, but it was still surreal to see them working together. Lynn gave Kim the same gleefully triumphant look as she had on last two occasion they'd met. Kim had ultimately come on top both times, and she intended to win this one, too.

Lynn launched her orbs at the pair. Kim was mindful of the fact that although she couldn't control Shego, the orange glow still appeared to hurt her, so she placed herself to shield Shego with her body. The spheres swerved outward to avoid Kim, then followed curved trajectories towards Shego from two directions. Kim lunged to swat one away, then grabbed Shego and spun them around to block the other sphere with her back. The orbs bounced erratically away, then stabilized and streaked towards them once more. Shego sent a barrage of green bolts at Lynn, who ducked behind the stack of beams. The orbs veered away.

The distraction had given Team Go enough time to catch up to them and over a dozen copies of Wego surrounded them, though they held off for the moment. Hego strolled towards them, grabbing a large bag of cement from a pile on his way like it didn't weigh anything. Kim wasn't sure if he intended to throw it at them, or if he was just demonstrating his strength to intimidate them. In either event, it proved a lucky break.

"Shego."

"I've got it."

A green projectile ruptured the sack and filled the air with cement dust. Shego followed with more blasts, further agitating the cloud. Wego coughed and tried to protect their eyes. Kim and Shego took advantage of the opportunity by concentrating on the better part of valor. Kim gave Shego a boost over the fence surrounding the yard, and quickly followed her. A last look behind her showed Kim that Team Go was in disarray and Lynn was giving her a vengeful stare.

* * *

Kim slid into the driver's seat and started the car as Shego was getting seated beside her.

"Thank you, Kimmie. I don't think I could have gotten away on my own."

"No big, I'm just glad I was around to help." And there was no need to dwell on the reason why she was.

"Yeah, it was good timing."

Kim focused on putting distance between them and Team Go.

"How did they find you?"

"I don't know. I was just walking past the lot when they ambushed me. I really didn't think they'd guess to look for me here."

"You probably can't go back to your lodgings. Did you leave anything valuable there?"

"Not really, no, just some clothes and other necessities. I pretty much got here with just the clothes on my back."

"Doesn't sound like it would be worth the risk to go back for them."

"No. I can just buy new ones."

"We'll stop by the mall on the way home."

"Kimmie..."

"Shego, you don't have anywhere else to stay, do you? And if they try something, we'll both be there to handle it."

"I don't want to put your family in danger."

"Like I said, Lynn already has a grudge on me, so they're already in danger. You being there can only help."

"And you definitely think your parents will be okay with it?"

"We can at least ask. I'm sure they won't turn down a person in need of aid." Kim chewed her lip for a while. "Uh, it would probably be best if we didn't mention our past, um... you know."

"Uh, yeah, that's... that's best."

From the corner of her eye Kim noticed that Shego was blushing more than her. This nice Shego didn't quite have the raw sex appeal of the original, but she was very charming in her own way. Kim looked forward to getting to know her better. She was sure she'd be able to overcome her hesitance eventually. After all, anything was possible for a Possible.

* * *

Kim sat on the couch, next to Shego, feeling nervous. Her parents sat opposite them, wearing sombre expressions.

"Let me see if I understood this correctly," Dr. Possible said. "Shego, one of your greatest enemies, got attacked by another villain and turned good. Now she's hunted by her formerly heroic brothers, turned evil, and you offered to put her up on our behalf."

"Uh, more or less, Mom."

"As a neurosurgeon I have a hard time believing someone can just be zapped good. Do we have anything to go on apart from her word?"

"Mom, you remember what happened to Ron that one time? When he became villainous for a while. The device that was used on Shego and her brothers was based on the thing that did that to him."

"I... yes, I remember." Dr. Possible sighed. "Maybe I should be more open-minded when it comes to mad science."

"And I just rescued her from Team Go. They definitely weren't acting like heroes should. Oh, and they were working with Adrena Lynn. Wade warned you, right?"

"Yes." Dr. Possible's face hardened. "When I think about what she did to Tim and Jim I can't but wish you'd dealt with her once and for all."

"Mom! You don't mean that."

"Now, now, honey. The boys are safe and sound in the lab, and I'm sure our Kimmie-Cub will send Lynn back to prison soon enough."

"I will. And having Shego here helps. She's immune to Lynn's power, too. And if Lynn managed to control one of you, Shego can knock you out before you do anything bad, safe and sound."

"Uhh, Kimmie, I'm afraid it's not really that safe. The knockout pulse I use is pretty much a concussion on demand. I really don't want to do that to anyone, especially to your family."

"I support that sentiment."

"Oh, I didn't realize. You... the old you used it so freely I thought it was okay."

"She was a villain, Kimmie. She didn't really care how much she hurt other people, as long as it got her what she wanted, and didn't get her into too much trouble." Shego's expression clouded with pain.

"You think of yourself as a different person since you were reprogrammed?"

"I... I remember everything she did, but I don't really understand her reasons. I'd never make those choices myself. I'm not the same person anymore; I don't want to be that person."

"I guess I can understand that." Dr. Possible looked at the two of them. "Very well, Kim. I will trust you on this. She can stay here."

"Thank you, Mom."

"Thank you very much, Dr. Possible. And you, Dr. Possible."

"Don't mention it. You seem like a very nice young lady. I'm sure you'll be a good influence on Kim."

Kim seriously hoped she wouldn't be too good an influence. She did seem rather uptight, but Kim remembered her mentioning that college had been a wild time for her; and that that was where she'd discovered girls. Perhaps the upstanding Ms. Go wasn't completely incorruptible.

"Shego." There was steel in Dr. Possible's voice and in her gaze. "I'm trusting you with the safety of my family. Don't betray that trust."

Shego swallowed and nodded.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Adrena Lynn yawned as she leaned against the side of the van at the parking lot of a roadside motel. She was waiting for Mego to get them rooms. She had very little faith in the annoying man's ability to manage even this task without screwing up in some way, but she'd had little choice. Her face was too well known, the twins were young enough to look suspicious at this hour, and Hego had a much too distinctive physique.

She thought she was getting a better handle on Team Go. Hego was usually easy enough to get along with, though he had a tendency to act like he thought he was in charge. Wego were, not surprisingly, immature, and she suspected that joining in on their pranks would make them like her better. She didn't think it would get their respect, though. Mego responded to flattery, but she didn't want to resort to it except in dire need.

No, the best way to keep them in line was to be firm. They seemed to respond to direct, forceful orders and unyielding authority. In retrospect, it wasn't too surprising that Electronique had made sure they responded to her dominant attitude. It didn't come quite naturally to Adrena, not the way it seemed to come to Electronique, but she was getting better at it. With her, the attitude had an element of bluff about it, because she, unlike Electronique, couldn't back it up with a credible threat of overwhelming force.

Adrena knocked on the side of the van when she saw Mego exiting the office.

"Let's go, boys."

The side door slid open, and the rest of Team Go emerged. Adrena led them after Mego, shivering in the nighttime breeze.

* * *

The motel room was practically identical to the many Adrena had stayed at in her previous life as a host of a reality show. There were two sturdy beds, a desk, and a ratty chair. She sat on one bed, Hego and Wego sat on the other, and Mego lounged in the chair after she'd kicked him off the bed. Adrena looked at her team and realized she didn't know what to say.

"Our mission hasn't been a great success so far." For once Adrena was grateful for Hego taking the lead.

"The mission is over. We messed up the moment Kim Possible saw us and got away."

"So we, what, slink back to Electronique and beg for forgiveness?" Mego didn't sound thrilled with the prospect, and Adrena had to agree with the sentiment.

"What choice do we have?"

"We could have another _go_ at capturing our sister."

"They'd be expecting that."

"It could still work."

"Electronique told me to abort if we got spotted."

"We could tell her to take a hike. What do we need her for? We'd do alright on our own."

Adrena had to admit that was a possibility, but she wasn't sure if she was included in that 'we'. Even if she was, she wouldn't necessarily be in charge. Her power didn't work on Team Go, and her authority over them descended from Electronique.

"But what would we do?" Hego sounded uncertain, but it seemed like he was considering it.

"Anything we want to." Mego's eyes strayed in her direction, and Adrena started to feel uncomfortable with the situation.

"Don't you think she would come after us?" Adrena thought it was safer to include herself in the group for the moment.

"Uh, she probably would. She can get a bit obsessive."

"How bad could it be?"

There was a moment of silence as everybody pondered the question.

"Right, so, we're heading back to grovel for mercy, then?"

"Yeah, that... that sounds like a plan."

"Exactly as befits loyal henchpeople who clearly do not deserve to be punished for an entirely understandable mishap."

"Right. I guess that concludes the team meeting." Adrena got up from the bed. "Mego, my key."

"I got us a room with a double bed." Mego pulled out a key. "Number two, right next door."

"You mean you got me a room." Adrena yanked the key from his hand. "I appreciate the bed, though." Right now she wanted nothing as bad as to collapse into it.

"Wow, Mego, you didn't really think she'd want you in her bed, did you?" Adrena had never bothered to learn to differentiate between the two Wego. She wasn't sure there was a meaningful difference.

"If you weren't so full of yourself, you might have noticed she's got the hots for the boss lady."

Adrena gave a scandalized gasp. Mego looked at her speculatively.

"A dyke, huh? I should have figured."

"Now, look here..." Adrena was interrupted by Wego.

"Shame for her that if Electronique is going to use one of us as a stress toy, it's probably going to be Hego."

"Now, look here..." Hego was interrupted by Wego.

"Come on, you remember that one time Electronique captured us, Hego? When she had you spreadeagled in those chains?"

"Just when Shego came in through the skylight it looked like she was about to..."

"Get your mind out of the gutter! You have no idea what you are talking about. Our villainous overlady is much too refined for such behavior."

"Yeah, you better practice that ass kissing. It'll come in handy."

"Will you stop this pointless discussion and focus on the important issue: namely, where am I going to sleep, then?"

"Here, I guess." Adrena was only too happy to change the subject.

"There isn't enough room for all four of us."

"Well, maybe you should have taken three rooms, then."

"That's a waste of our hard-earned cash."

"We stole that money. We can steal more."

"You mean I can."

"Yes, you have been very useful."

Mego preened at the acknowledgment, as always, but it was an honest assessment. Mego's power was not great for combat, but it was pretty good for infiltration. He had been the go-to burglar on the trip. Of course, there weren't many places he could go that Hego couldn't, but the big bruiser had a little less subtle way of making an entrance. Their powers combined well, too, as Hego's big fists made mini-Mego-sized holes.

"Now, be a good boy and go get another room, unless you want to share a bunk with Hego."

* * *

Mego grumbled and left, and Adrena followed him out and entered her own room. It was very much like the other one, except it had a double bed, just as Mego had claimed. She couldn't believe the egoist had actually thought she'd share it with him. Adrena shivered with disgust.

She threw her small bag on the bed and sat on the edge. Her grand test mission for Electronique had been an unmitigated disaster. She wondered what sort of punishment she'd face. The villainess hadn't seemed the type to mete out excessive punishment for every failure. Adrena had gathered that Team Go had disappointed her before, but they were still around and seemed mostly alright. Of course, electric shocks didn't necessarily leave obvious marks, but were nonetheless painful. Adrena shivered again, this time of fright, feeling very alone and sorry for herself.

Adrena let herself fall backwards on the bed. Perhaps Electronique would go easy on her. Despite Wego's speculation, Adrena suspected the older woman had a soft spot for her. She had shown her preference from the start. Of course, she might enjoy hurting her, too. You never knew with villains. It wasn't too difficult to imagine her with a riding crop in her hand. Or wearing a leather corset and a pair of thigh-high stiletto boots.

Adrena's eyes closed of their own accord, and she wearily pushed herself back up. She was so tired her mind kept wandering. As worried as she was, she had difficulty staying awake. She hadn't exactly got a lot of sleep since leaving Electronique, and the night spent in her make-shift cell hadn't been the most restful. She was sorely tempted to just lie back down and let herself fall asleep, but she wanted to shower first. She had spent a day and a half on the road, in the same clothes, and she was all too aware of it. She didn't even want to think about her hair. She levered herself up from the bed and headed for the bathroom.

Once she got in, she blinked and walked back out to the bed to gather her toiletries. She really felt tired. She wondered if she was forgetting something else, and shrugged. She'd worry about that in the morning. She started to strip off her clothes, then paused and made sure the bathroom door was closed and locked. She checked the ventilation duct, too. Mego was a pervert, and as she had observed, very good at infiltration. Satisfied of her privacy, she finished undressing.

Adrena stepped into the shower, closed the curtain, and turned the water on. She flinched as drops of cold water hit her, and backed off as she waited for the water to get warm. When it did, she just stood in the warm cascade for a while, eyes closed and enjoying the soothing sensation. Her worries just seemed to melt away. Or perhaps she was just too tired to be able to focus on anything long.

Adrena decided to start washing herself before she fell asleep in the shower, and before the hot water ran out. She would have loved to luxuriate in the warm embrace of the falling water, but this was not the time for it. She grabbed a washcloth and quickly scrubbed away the sweat and grime of the road trip. She was too tired to properly care for her hair; a quick rinse would have to do for now.

The water turning cooler alerted Adrena to her having just been standing under the water for a while, lost in thoughts that didn't remain on one subject long. She did a final scrub and turned off the shower. She shivered in the suddenly cool air and reached for her towel, drying herself off as fast as she could.

Adrena exited the bathroom wrapped in a towel. She was tempted to crawl into the bed naked, but figured it would be better to put something on. She hadn't packed a lot of clothes, not currently owning much in that line, so she just put on a clean pair of panties and a t-shirt she'd have to wear tomorrow. Her hair was still damp, put she got in bed, anyway.

The bedclothes felt a little rough, but at least they were clean. Adrena laid on her stomach and hugged her pillow. It felt comforting. She tried to picture someone in its place, and the image her mind conjured up was of Electronique. The older woman liked her, she was sure of it. She wanted someone to watch her back, someone she could trust. It was lonely being a villain, as Adrena had already learned. She believed Electronique wanted someone she could be close to, and it wasn't going to be one of her brainwashed minions.

Adrena imagined a return to the lair where the striking villainess welcomed her with open arms. She knew it was probably a fantasy, but comfortable in the bed it wasn't difficult to persuade her tired mind that it might happen. She was tired of being alone, tired of making the wrong calls and losing. Electonique was strong and confident, and she could do worse for a partner. Electronique could teach her how to be a villain and was powerful enough to protect her from her enemies. Adrena nuzzled the pillow, imagining it was Electronique's hair. She drifted off to sleep thinking of her.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Kim Possible waited by the parking lot, filled with anticipation. The school day had been boring, the only bright spot having been the class held by Shego. Now that she was staying at her house, she could look forwards to spending the rest of the day with her. The possibilities flashed before her eyes.

"Just try not to be too eager," she muttered to herself.

"Playing hard to get, KP?" Ron said, walking up to Kim. "It's not necessary. I understand it's hard to resist the Ron-Man."

Kim cringed. Of course he had to overhear that. "Why are you here, Ron? I thought you preferred to, what was it, cruise the blacktop on your scooter?"

"It's in the shop. I could have used a ride this morning, too."

"Well, you didn't tell me that you needed a lift."

"I didn't have a chance to. It's almost like you've been avoiding me lately. You were in an awful hurry to get off the phone last night, too."

"I had a lot to do, what with getting Shego settled in at our place and visiting the hospital for a brain scan and everything. Besides, we see each other every day, anyway."

"KP, I really don't think having Shego as a house guest is a good idea. I mean, yeah, she says she's good now, but how can we be sure? What it if it's all part of some evil scheme?"

"What evil scheme would be served by posing as a teacher?"

"Maybe she's after you. Maybe she's trying to worm her way close to you so she can seduce you to the side of evil."

"Ron, I'm pretty sure that's not the case." It seemed clear that any seduction would have to come from Kim's side. "It's sweet that you worry about me, but I have things under control."

"Famous last words, KP."

"Hi, Kimmie; hi, Ronnie."

Kim knew Shego must have heard Ron as she approached, but she appeared willing to pretend she hadn't. "Hi, Shego. Ready to get going?"

"You could just drop me off at your house and go to the mall with Ronnie. I'm sure you young people would rather be alone."

"Sounds like a plan, KP."

"I can hang out with Ron anytime. You are the one who needs to go shopping, and it's more fun with company."

"I don't really need to, we already did that yesterday."

"Oh, please, picking up a few essentials in a rush doesn't count. If you're going to stick around here, you need to get started on an entire new wardrobe."

"Wait, are you two going to shop for clothes? Why are you dragging me along? Wouldn't you rather take Monique?"

"Monique is working. We'll probably see her if we go to Club Banana. Anyway, I didn't drag you here, you're the one who barged in. The least you can do is help carry stuff."

"That's not really necessary..."

"Wait, I didn't sign up for..."

"Just get in the car, both of you."

"Yes, Kimmie."

"Yes, KP."

* * *

After the first forty minutes spent at Club Banana, Ron had slipped away. Kim hadn't noticed when it happened, but she wasn't sorry to find him gone. Under other circumstances she would have been bummed that Monique's new role as an assistant manager meant she didn't have time for more than a few words, but that was just as well, too. She wanted Shego all to herself.

"Ooh, I bet that would look good on you. Why don't you try it on?"

"I don't know, Kimmie, it doesn't really look very professional."

"Shego, for the millionth time, we aren't here to get you clothes for work. If you're going to stay here longer, you need some casual clothes, too."

"It doesn't look that casual."

"Well, no. But it will definitely look good on you. Shoo; go put it on, already."

"Well... okay, I'll try it on."

Shego disappeared into a dressing booth. Kim could hardly wait to see how the tight blouse with the generous neckline would look on her. She was sure it would be perfect for a date, once she managed to talk Shego into going out with her. Maybe she could trick her?

The store was momentarily quiet enough for Monique to join her. "So, how's it going? She legit?"

"You talked to her. Do you really think she's acting?"

"She'd have to be really good. I'll believe she got her brain rewired. Do you think it'll hold?"

"I don't know. She seems to believe so. The original Attitudinator made permanent changes."

"Well, I guess one villain less is good for the world."

"Yes. It'll be a net win as long as we get her brothers turned back."

"Right. Any progress on that front?"

"Not really. It's a pretty hard nut to crack."

"What is?"

Kim turned to look at Shego and lost her thread of thought. The blouse displayed her bosom to advantage as she had thought. She had just failed to picture exactly how hot she looked in it.

"Coconuts..."

"Excuse my babbling friend, Ms. Go. That looks exquisite on you."

"Thank you." Shego blushed and looked bashfully away. "I'm just not sure it's something I'm comfortable wearing."

"Nonsense; you look ravishing. Come on, let's go find you something to go with it.

Monique led the oddly acquiescent Shego away. Kim stayed where she was and tried to get her libido back under control. She never would have believed how utterly arousing a combination of a voluptuous figure and demure innocence could be. For a while Kim had been concerned about this new, good Shego lacking the fire of the original, which she had believed essential to her appeal. She still missed the snarky, sultry villainess she'd faced so many times with conflicting feelings, but the good Shego certainty had charms of her own.

Kim had been brought up as a good girl, and she very much believed herself to be one. Even so, or perhaps because of it, she had always had a certain attraction to people with a dangerous edge. In fiction she seemed to like the bad boys; preferably brooding, misunderstood types rather than out and out villains. In real life, it seemed to be a bad girl who had captured her interest. This Shego wasn't that Shego. This Shego made her feel like the bad girl. She certainly wanted to do naughty things to her. Shego seemed reluctant, but that just made her want it more. Kim shivered as she wondered how far she would be willing to go.

"Just take it slow, Kim," she said to herself. Miss Go seemed much too virtuous to just jump in the sack with a student of hers. She needed to be patient with her courting, much as her base urges disagreed. For now, they should just spend some time hanging out together. Maybe she could offer some cautious compliments, preferably something coherent. And no more staring at her breasts.

* * *

"KP, where have you been?" Kim was not a fan of the entitled, annoyed air Ron sometimes adopted when he felt universe had conspired to thwart him. "Bricks on Fire: The Collateral Supremacy opens today. We can still make the matinee if we run!"

"Sorry, Ron, but I already promised Shego we'd..." Kim shot a quick look at Shego, but it didn't look like she intended to contradict her. "Uh, get our eyebrows waxed."

"Yeah, well, there's no... wait, what? You wax your eyebrows?"

"Never mind."

"Works for me. Now let's get going or we'll be late."

"But, Ron, I promised to hang out with Shego."

"I'll be fine, Kimmie."

"She can come too. As long as she promises to behave."

"I'm not really interested in that one..." Shego trailed off, then brightened. "Do you know which movie I'd like to see? The Memo Pad."

"Uh, hello, that's a chick flick."

"Ooh, I've been wanting to go see it, but Ron hasn't been too enthusiastic." Kim knew an opportunity when one presented itself. "Do you want to go watch it with me?"

"Sure! Oh, unless you'd prefer to go see something with Ronnie."

"He can come to The Memo Pad with us." Kim silently willed Ron to decline; she was fairly confident he would.

"Ugh, no thanks. I guess I'll see you later."

"Yeah, later." Kim grabbed Shego's hand and steered them in the direction of the movie theater. "Bye, Ron."

"Bye, Ronnie!"

* * *

Kim was so excited she was almost shaking. Or was she nervous? She loved the prospect of going to see a romantic movie with Shego, but she worried she might do something to ruin it all. As much as she'd like to pretend this was a date, she knew it wasn't. Shego had said that she wasn't going to be involved with her. But she was the one who'd suggested this movie. Did she maybe like her after all? Was she giving her a chance to make a move, or did she just want to see the movie?

Kim looked at Shego from the corner of her eye. She seemed excited, but not quite like a girl on a date. Then again, she was older than her, and might not get so visibly giddy. Kim just wished she'd give her some unambiguous signals. How different was she to her former self? She had at least found her physically attractive, before. Surely the device wouldn't have changed that. Was the reason for Shego's reluctance that she didn't like her, or just that she didn't think dating her was appropriate?

Kim tried to calm down. She'd already decided to take it slow and play it cool. This was a wonderful opportunity to bond with Shego, she would have plenty of time to try to get closer, later. But what if she missed out on a chance to advance that timetable? They had barely reached the theater, and she was already becoming a nervous wreck. How did people handle dating? And this wasn't even a date. Probably.

"I'll get the tickets, the movie will start in a few minutes. Will you get us something to snack on?"

Kim mumbled her assent, and Shego joined the queue at the counter. She really behaved very differently from the old Shego. Kim wondered how much of it was the result of Electronique's device, and how much of it was just her being released from the constraints of her criminal lifestyle. She also didn't seem too worried about someone recognizing her. She had claimed that people rarely did, but it still seemed odd to Kim that she was so comfortable in public. Of course, she now had her to cover for her in case of trouble.

Kim was glad now that Shego hadn't found much she wanted to purchase, and that she had the bags. She needed both her hands for the two diet sodas and the popcorn bucket. The choice of the snack food was made by a vision of both of them reaching into the bucket at the same time, their hands accidentally touching. It was an accident that could be forced, and would hopefully tell her something.

Kim met Shego at the door, at the end of a moderate line. "I'm afraid the best seats are already gone."

"Yeah, that's a pity. Did you know that in Europe most theaters, even small ones, have reserved seating? Not that it would help when getting tickets this late."

"No, I didn't. I only get there on missions, I don't think I've ever seen a movie over there." She wondered when Shego had spent time there, and whether it had been business or pleasure. Knowing Shego, probably a bit of both. "Well, apart from that one Cannes premiere."

"Hey, nice pronunciation. Those French classes are paying off."

"Thanks. Can we not talk school at the movies?" The less emphasis on them being, at least technically, teacher and student, the better.

"Sure. We probably should be quiet, anyway."

Shego and Kim settled into their seats. They were not ideal, but made for decent enough viewing. Kim would have preferred to be in the back row, just in case.

Kim couldn't concentrate on the trailers; she wasn't that interested in the first place, and her attention was solidly on the woman next to her. She kept stealing glances at her, hoping she wouldn't notice in the dark. She sat very still, fearing to brush against Shego's shoulder and wanting to do that. She felt nervous and sweaty. They had come to the mall straight from the school and been there for hours. What it she smelled of sweat?

Why was she so much more nervous around this kind, nice Shego than she'd ever been around the one who claimed she was evil? She had flirted with her. This was more like—well, more like every date she'd been on. Maybe it had been easier with Shego because when she'd taken her big chance to seduce her she hadn't really had anything to lose. They were enemies and didn't have a relationship to ruin beyond that. This Shego clearly wanted to be her friend. Kim could jeopardize that by pushing too hard. But what was too hard?

Or maybe it was because she was not nervous on her missions, and Shego was intrinsically part of that side of her life, the exciting, larger than life side. Being with this normally dressed Shego in a movie theater was too normal, and she was normally nervous around her crushes. But she had managed to date Josh for a while, and gone on dates with Ron. Was she so unsure because this wasn't a date and she didn't know what might drive Shego away?

Kim realized her thoughts were going in circles and tried to focus on the beginning movie instead. She reached in to scoop a handful of popcorn, and her had encountered Shego's. She jerked hers back in shock, cheeks burning, as she felt the distinct tingling Shego had insisted was their powers interacting. A glance showed her Shego had pulled back her hand, too, but it was too dark to tell if she was blushing. She looked fixedly at the screen, but at least she wasn't leaning away. Kim almost giggled aloud. She hadn't even engineered that!

Smiling, Kim turned her attention to the movie. She was making things more difficult than they needed to be. She didn't need to think about how to change Shego's mind every minute they were together. There was something between them, and she was sure Shego couldn't deny it forever. As long as they had the opportunity to spend time together, things would work themselves out. Kim was sure of it.

Just as long as nothing else got in the way.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Adrena Lynn faced Electronique with Team Go, head bowed and trying her best not to tremble. She was half-way regretting returning to base empty-handed, but this was the path she had chosen. Now she just had to weather the storm and find her way back into Electronique's good graces.

Electronique was a picture of barely suppressed ire. "So, let me see if I have understood correctly: you compromised your mission on the very first day in an attempt to capture Shego, which you also failed to accomplish."

"Yeah, that's about the size of it."

Adrena felt distinctly annoyed at Hego responding for them. The big oaf might have been the leader when Team Go were a team of heroes, but she was in charge now.

"We did locate Shego," Adrena said, but didn't dare point out that it was something Electronique hadn't managed on her own. "And we confirmed she and Kim Possible are definitely working together."

"That is something, I suppose." Electronique still didn't look any more pleased with them. "Tell me, what new things did you learn about Kim Possible, apart from her cooperation with Shego?"

"Uhh... we didn't really have that much time to observe her..."

"No, you did not."

"We got an opportunity to grab Shego, and we took it!"

"Indeed. And had you succeeded, I'd be much more inclined to be forgiving. Tell me, between the five of you, how did you fail to capture one woman?"

"She was much more difficult to handle than I thought, and these brutes weren't very useful. But we had her cornered. If Kim Possible hadn't barged in right then, we would have had her."

"Did I not say it was your responsibility to make them more efficient? And would it be fair to say you failed because you charged in without taking the time to gather relevant intelligence and form a viable plan?"

"Uh..."

"Which is precisely what I wanted you to practice with Kim Possible. I had rather hoped you'd understand that the same principle applies to Shego, too."

Electronique's demeanor was growing calmer, but Adrena wasn't reassured. Team Go was tense as well, sensing a calm before a storm. Adrena decided it was time for damage control.

"I'm sorry. I messed up. But you told me you didn't expect perfection from the start."

"So I did." Electronique's voice was low and her face was neutral. It sent chills down Adrena's back. "I did, however, expect you to not keep repeating the same mistake. It seems I need to take a more hands-on approach to your education."

Electronique raised her hands to illustrate her point. Her suit began a high-pitched whine as the charge built up. "You four! Get out of my sight and stay gone." She emphasized the order by unleashing her power on the brothers. The four men scrambled away, dodging electric discharges.

Adrena stood her ground. She was afraid that Electronique might turn her ire on her, but she enjoyed the sight of Team Go fleeing from Electronique too much to turn away. She was the very picture of a dangerous, dominant villainess she hoped one day to be. Adrena wanted to be as powerful as her, to make her enemies scurry to escape her wrath. She found it hard to picture how Team Go had ever managed to defeat her. The former heroes made it out of sight and Electronique ceased her awe-inspiring demonstration of power.

"Follow me." Electronique turned and walked away. Adrena followed her without delay, not even thinking of making use of her back being turned.

* * *

Electronique led the way to one of the rooms at the end of the building that Adrena thought had once been an equipment room. From the paraphernalia on the tables lining the walls it was obvious she had adopted the room as her workshop. It wasn't where Adrena had expected to be taken. She had half-imagined a dungeon. She shivered as she took another look at the tools on display. She wasn't sure what Elecronique's approach to punishment was, but electric shocks definitely seemed to be on the table.

"Close the door after you."

Adrena did as instructed, then turned to face Electronique. "I'm sorry I failed your test. Please, give me another chance to prove myself. I'll do anything." She looked at Electronique with wide, pleading eyes and leaned slightly forwards while pulling her shoulders back, emphasizing her chest, just a little. "Anything."

"You probably think that I'm angry at you. You are wrong. I am not angry at you, I'm merely disappointed." Electronique seated herself in the only chair in the room, a green, comfortable recliner that looked out of place in its surroundings. "If anything, I'm mad at myself. I should have known better than to get my hopes up about you."

Adrena felt a strange pang at her words that she didn't understand at all. Electronique was merely a means to an end; her approval shouldn't matter to her this much.

"Do you see that tray on the table? Bring it to me."

Adrena stepped in the indicated direction. She was surprised by her own obedience. Of course, she had placed herself in Electronique's power by coming back here like a loyal minion, and if Electronique wanted her to play the servant she didn't have much choice. Her power couldn't get past Electronique's shield, and she really didn't want to get shocked again.

On the table lay a cheap plastic tray with two short metal cylinders on it. They were complicated affairs with wires crossing their surface, and Adrena assumed they were Electronique's handiwork. She carefully picked the tray up, wary of the objects sliding off.

Adrena walked up to the chair and looked down at Electronique's face. She was about to hand the tray over when the look on Electronique's face made her reconsider. She carefully knelt in front of the seated villain and held up the tray to her. She briefly wondered why she voluntarily humiliated herself by acting so submissively, but reassured herself that for the moment it was in her interest to court lenience by any means available.

"Perhaps I mistook the position you were suited for, my dear. You look very natural right there."

Adrena felt shame at Electronique acknowledging her subservient attitude, but she also felt a tiny bit of hope at her using one of her pet names for the first time since her return. Perhaps her display of loyalty had earned her forgiveness. Villains did love their henchmen, after all. It was not what Adrena wanted to be, but she reflected that even Shego worked as a sidekick to a more prominent villain. It was a step down from junior partner, but she could live with that arrangement for a while.

"Your performance so far has been far from satisfactory, darling, but your obedience is very becoming. I have a gift for you."

Electronique picked up the metal cylinders. She balanced one on the armrest while manipulating the other in her hands. There was a small click, and the cylinder opened along hinges that had been hidden beneath the wires. Right now the object looked very much like a heavy cuff. Adrena swallowed.

"Put down the tray and hold out one arm, would you, dear."

Adrena did as instructed and raised her left arm, shaking a little. Her mouth was dry and her heart was beating fast. As she'd expected, Electronique took her arm and slid the cuff on her wrist. Her touch was firm, but gentle. She snapped the cuff shut with a very final-sounding click. She picked up the other cuff, and Adrena held out her right arm without being prompted. Electronique favored her with a little smile as she placed the other cuff on her.

"Now, my dear, activate your Glow."

Adrena hesitated for a moment, searching Electronique's face, then did as instructed. She called on that strange, otherworldly power she had hoped would give her the edge she needed over Kim Possible, and the orange spheres formed around her hands. She could feel the slight reassuring pressure on her skin and the strange certainty that these spheres, and everyone they touched, would loyally follow her wishes.

She looked up at Electronique. She was fairly certain that her shield required a short charge-up time. From this distance, she might be able to strike before Electronique could react. In her desire to humble her the woman had given her the perfect opportunity to turn the tables. She just needed to will her Glow forwards, and then it would be Electronique that was kneeling, not her.

There was a slight, arrogant smile on Electronique's lips. Adrena looked down. She couldn't risk it. The cautious villain would never leave herself open like that. This was another test, and the price for failure would no doubt be painful. Electronique was a much more experienced villain than her, and it was better to serve her than fail on her own. She held out her hands surrounded by her power, displaying the Glow like an offering.

"Brace yourself, dear."

Before Adrena could fully comprehend the words, she experienced a sudden discomfort. It was unlike any feeling she'd had before, but it was little alike to trying to breath with body immersed in water. There was a sense of mounting pressure, of suffocation. She gasped for breath and started hyperventilating. Inexplicable sense of being crushed continued to increase until tears started to flow from her eyes. She still couldn't pinpoint the cause, and she started to panic.

Suddenly the sensation disappeared with a sharp shock of what might have been pain. She blinked tears from her eyes and tried to understand what had happened. She was sprawled on the floor and her heart was hammering a mile a minute. As she got her breathing back under control she realized the sensation had vanished without a trace. She was fine. She got back up on her knees.

"Oh, you poor darling. I didn't expect it to be quite that unpleasant."

Adrena could feel a hand stroking her head. She looked up at Electronique, who nodded down at her wrists. She followed the direction and looked down. On both cuffs shone a red LED light she hadn't noticed before. Her Glow was off, of course.

"Miniature version of my shield, projected around your hands. It seems to work as intended. Try to activate your Glow again."

"No." Adrena didn't ever want to experience that again.

"I insist." Electronique cupped her chin and lifted her head up until she was looking the villain in the eyes. "Just for a second, dear."

Adrena tried it. Instantly the discomfort returned, and she abandoned the effort, the sensation soon fading. Having had a moment to recover, the implication of the cuffs dawned on her.

"I totally could have taken you from this distance."

"Perhaps you could have." There was a teasing smirk. "And perhaps you couldn't. I just found it tiresome to always have to be on guard when you're around. Always wearing this shield gets old, you know. With you properly accessorized, I can occasionally let my hair down around you."

Adrena looked up at her hair, which still stuck straight up.

"A figure of speech, darling. Don't worry, I'll let you off the leash when time comes to face our foes. Incidentally, do not try to remove the cuffs. They hold quite a lot of charge, and I doubt you'd survive the experience of grounding them."

Adrena swallowed. "I'll keep that in mind."

Electronique again petted Adrena's head and stroked her hair. It was a little demeaning, but also unexpectedly pleasant after the painful experience and the stress she'd been under.

"Perhaps I was too harsh on you. You didn't entirely fail my test, after all."

Adrena wanted to ask what she meant, but didn't want to risk making her situation worse. She looked up at Electronique and waited for her to elaborate.

"Yes, you failed in the overt mission, but you did manage to successfully guide your team there and back again. Given their... unruliness, and the fact you lack the means to effectively discipline them, that is not an insignificant achievement."

"Thank you." Adrena decided Electronique didn't need to know any embarrassing details.

"And, of course, I wanted to test your loyalty. I think you are doing an admirable job of demonstrating it right now."

Electronique's hand still hadn't left her head, and it now traced down her jaw with a caressing touch.

"Perhaps we should find out what other praiseworthy qualities you might possess, my darling Adrena."

There was a hungry, possessive look on Electronique's face that made Adrena shiver, but not in a bad way.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Kim Possible faced Shego over a table at the mall's food court. The tension from earlier was gone, and she enjoyed just spending time with her. Kim replayed the events at the cinema in her mind as she idly played with her food, and the plot of the movie did not feature prominently.

Kim looked up and was shocked to find Shego looking intently into her eyes, resting her face in her hands almost half-way across the table. Her eyes widened in surprise and she could feel her face heat up. Shego's eyes were pretty, and they were so _close_. Kim tried to speak up, but her mouth was dry.

"There are golden flecks in your eyes."

"What?" Kim knew she sounded like an idiot.

"I thought I spotted them earlier, but I wasn't sure. The Glow, it causes physical changes. I didn't have green eyes, before. Or skin, for that matter."

Kim tried to get her thoughts back on track. Having her crush look straight into her eyes from a foot away with a smile on her lips had left her flustered.

"Uh, you all got changed by your powers? I mean, there's your skin, obviously, and Mego, too, but the others looked normal. Well, I suppose Wego had red eyes."

"Yeah, all of us were change to some degree or other. Wego probably have more red-tinted skin these days, but how could you tell?"

"I guess there's that. What about Hego? He looked normal."

"With Hego it's more than skin deep. He was changed more than any of us. He looks kinda normal, apart from the hair, but he's really dense."

"Isn't that a little harsh? I mean, I guess he didn't seem like the sharpest guy around, but..."

"No, I mean all his tissues and bones are tougher and denser than normal. He weighs like quarter of a ton. And he's not dense; he's actually really smart."

"Uh, I don't know about that. I mean, he's a manager at a fast food joint." Not to mention he had seemed rather oblivious to certain practical facets of hero game.

"Exactly. That's pretty clever. As a superhero, he needs a job where he can take off at a moment's notice. It's just a fast food place, so it's not like anything terrible will happen if he skips out for a while. And it gives him easy access to cheap calories. He needs to eat a lot, and I mean _a lot_. You wouldn't believe how much energy he burns just by moving around."

"He didn't really seem all that heavy. He moved like a pretty athletic guy."

"Mm-hm. He's really strong. Well, duh, obviously, but it's not just his Glow anymore. I think he could lift a car without even activating it. Well, a really small car." Shego indicated size with her thumb and forefinger, which presumably wasn't to scale. Kim could lift a car the size of a matchbox without superpowers.

"That's a pretty drastic change. I never even suspected. Nothing like that happened to me when I had his glow. At least I don't think so."

"Well, you only had it for a couple of days. These aren't things that happen overnight."

"I guess that makes sense." Kim thought about her new glow changing her body over time. It was a pretty unreal concept. She tried to picture what the changes might look like, apart from golden eyes. "Ohmygod, am I going to have yellow skin?"

"Maybe. Would that be a problem?"

"It's really not the healthiest of skin tones. That's so not a good look for me." Kim looked at Shego, and her green-tinted skin. "Not that there's anything wrong with the way you look. You don't look... I mean, you look good."

"Maybe it won't be that bad. It could look like a healthy tan." When Kim looked skeptical, Shego continued. "Or maybe your skin won't change at all. We were younger than you when we got the powers, and still in puberty—well, Wego were barely that old. You are, what, seventeen?"

"Almost eighteen." She couldn't emphasize that fact enough.

"So maybe it won't have as big an effect if your body isn't changing anymore."

"Well, I kind of hope I'm not quite done growing yet."

"You're pretty much as tall as me, and I'm not short for a woman. You'll be fine."

"My height isn't the only thing I'm hoping would increase a little more." Kim looked down and pushed out her chest.

"Uh, well, athletic girls tend not to have big, ah, boobs. They suit you just fine. Would you really want to do your acrobatics with extra weight on top, anyway?"

"You're pretty active and you have such beautiful, large breasts." Kim was quite fond of Shego's breasts, and had made most of her opportunities to study them.

"Just, uh, just luck of the genes, I guess." The way Shego blushed suggested she, too, remembered those occasions.

Kim thought maybe she should be blushing, too. She had just complimented Shego's breasts, in public, and her intention had most certainly been flirtatious. She wasn't feeling the least bit embarrassed, though. All her earlier nervousness and doubts had vanished somewhere. She was, perhaps for the first time in her dating history, feeling like an adult rather than a teen girl.

It had to be Shego's behavior that was making her feel so bold. She was bashful and hesitant, but she didn't seem to mind Kim's overtures too much. It made Kim feel like she could push a little. Really, now that she reflected on it, Shego had said that they couldn't date because she was her teacher, not that she wasn't interested. It sounded like an excuse. She certainly seemed keen to spend time with Kim, and was clearly enjoying it.

Kim remembered her original attempt at seducing Shego; she had failed to work out the nerve to really go for it, and if Shego hadn't met her more than half-way, it would have been a total bust. This time things were going to be different, because both of them were different. Kim very deliberately ran her eyes up and down Shego's upper body.

"Well, you definitely won the lottery when it comes to good genes. You are the most beautiful woman I've ever known."

"I, uh, thank you." Shego's blush intensified. "Oh! But we are getting sidetracked. I wanted to ask you about your power."

"It's not as interesting as you. I've known you for years, now, but I don't really know much about you as a person."

Shego just barreled over her comment. "I always thought that the powers me and my brothers got was all there was, you know? It's just fascinating to me that there's more. And I find it interesting that my brothers all got full-body Glows and we both have Glows that only affect our hands. Or can you extend it further? I know Hego can light up only parts of his body."

"I think it's only my hands. I haven't really tried to do more, but it _feels_ like it's just my hands, if you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I know exactly what you're talking about."

"Now that you mention it, Adrena has glowing hands, too. Is the full-body glow like a guy thing?"

"I don't see why it would be. I mean, how or why would a magic space rock even discriminate like that? It's probably just chance."

"Yeah, I suppose." Kim reached out to touch Shego's hand. She again felt the familiar tingle before Shego pulled her hand away. Maybe Shego was right and it was caused by their powers. "Does your power react with those of your brothers', too?"

"Not that I've noticed, really. But it definitely reacted to Lynn's Glow." Shego put her face in her hands and sighed. "How are we going to help my brothers?"

"I don't know. Yet. But we will figure out a way."

"Were my brain scans of any help?"

"I'm not sure, but we can find out." Kim pulled out her Kimmunicator to contact Wade. The new model was awkward to use when not worn, so she put it on her wrist and placed her arm on the table so Shego would be included.

"Kim. She... Miss Go."

"Hi, Wade. Have you guys found out anything about the brain scans?"

"Well, yes and no, Kim. I mean, it's obvious that something's been done to her brain, but I wouldn't know where to start to reverse it, and neither does your mother or her colleagues."

"I don't want it reversed!"

"No, no, of course not. We mean your brothers. You do want them turned back, right?"

"Of course I do, Kimmie. I'm sorry I overreacted. I just... I just don't want to go back to what I was. Not when I have... so much more to look forward to." Shego laid her hand on Kim's.

Kim didn't know what to think. Between what Shego had said and her hand sending sparks through her body, she felt sure Shego wanted more than friendship from her. She tried to speak, but words failed her.

"Shego... I..."

"Hey, there you are." Ron sat himself down next to Kim.

Kim yanked her hand away from Shego's—accidentally ending the call to Wade—and sat bolt upright, startled. She turned to look at Ron, her sudden panic soon giving way to annoyance at her friend's poor timing. She noticed Ron was accompanied by Felix, who maneuvered his wheelchair to take a place at the end of the table. His friendly smile betrayed no evidence of noticing they were interrupting anything.

"Oh, hi, Felix. I didn't know you were about."

"I just ran into Ron and decided to keep him company since you were at a movie. How was it, by the way?"

"I enjoyed it. You just spent the entire time at the arcade, didn't you?"

"Guilty as charged." Kim notice that Felix was looking from Shego, to her, to Ron, his smile a little unsure.

"This is Miss Go, the new substitute teacher." Kim gave him a significant look. "You might recognize her from when we fought Adrena Lynn. I don't know if Ron filled you in, but it's a bit of a long story."

"Uh, yeah, I recognized her. We were wondering what she was doing at our school. Ron explained it to me, but, uh, maybe it would be good to hear it from you, too?"

Felix and Ron were good friends, but Kim knew Felix was smart enough to know Ron's take on some things wasn't necessarily the most objective.

"She got hit with a personality reversing device, and she's now as good as she used to be bad." It was a little simplistic, but Kim had explained the matter enough times that she was getting tired of it. Then the other thing Felix had said hit her. "Wait, you recognized who she was at school?"

"Well, yeah, obviously. We've met before, and she has a pretty distinctive look."

"You didn't worry or call the police or anything?"

"Nah, we all figured you had it handled. Mostly we were just curious." Now Kim wondered how many people at school knew who the new teacher was.

"Uh, yeah, I do. We were just trying to figure out how to help her brothers, who were turned evil." Kim saw Felix's eyes flick towards Ron for a second. It wasn't entirely surprising Felix had heard of the incident. "Yeah, it was the same device, or at least one based on it."

"Do you think you'll need access to the device?"

"It's starting to look that way. That's a problem."

"You can't just take it from the bad guys? Isn't this pretty much what you do for a hobby?"

"I wish it was that simple." Kim wondered if she wanted to burden Felix with the details. Then again, Felix was a pretty smart cookie, and might be able to help figure things out. "First of all, this version of the Attitudinator is point and shoot, apparently. We can't really risk having it used on us. Having it used on Shego probably wouldn't be that bad..."

"How can you even say that?"

Kim saw the hurt and shock on Shego's expressive face, the way her eyes threatened tears, and hurried to explain herself. "I meant tactically. I don't think you'd help them even if you were turned into your old self. This is the kind of situation where we've collaborated before. They probably wouldn't even want to use it on you. Me, though... I really don't know what I would do."

Shego was different enough, and she shuddered when she remembered what Ron had been like when he was turned evil. She didn't even want to imagine what she might turn into.

"Another problem is that the villain behind this, Electronique, has some heavy duty help. There's Shego's brothers, obviously, Team Go. They have superpowers, and we don't really want to hurt them. Fighting them won't be easy."

"A villain turning your friends and family against you. Sounds familiar."

"Yeah, I guess it does. Which brings us to the third problem: she also recruited Adrena Lynn."

"Oh."

"And that pretty much means it's got to be just Shego and me, because we are the only people I know her mind-control power doesn't work on."

"Oh, come on, KP. You don't think I'm going to let you face them without me, do you?"

"I really don't want to have to fight you again, Ron." Not least because he was really very difficult to fight when he wasn't himself, and she wasn't sure she could defeat him without seriously harming him.

"Well, then I'll just have to make sure to not get hit. Dodging bad guys and running away is what I do best."

"The stakes are much too high, Ron."

"All the more reason to have all the help you can, KP."

"No, he's right, Ron. Providing targets for Lynn is just a bad move. I don't think you want to be her puppet again any more than I do."

"Speaking of which, I've been meaning to ask, and I understand if you'd rather not talk about it..."

"You're wondering what it was like."

"Yes. You don't have to..."

"No, it's all right, Kim. It was... it was strange." Felix ran his hand through his short brown hair. "I was still me, or I thought I was still myself, and I recognized you and everything, but it just seemed to make sense to do what Lynn wanted me to. I knew what she wanted, somehow, and helping her just seemed so reasonable to me."

Shego broke in from across Kim, and she turned to look at her. "I felt something like that, when she first used her power on me. For a moment, it seemed like helping her rather than Kimmie was the more sensible thing to do. But I managed to snap out of it. I think my power helped."

"Well, that didn't happen to me. I wasn't struggling against her control or anything. I didn't even feel like I was being controlled. I was just the same old me, doing the thing that seemed to make the most sense. Of course, none of it makes any kind of sense anymore. I remember what I did, but not why I did it, how I justified it to myself at the time. It's kind of like being in a dream. All the crazy, illogical things seem to make sense, until you wake up."

Kim was struck by how similar Felix's description of being mind controlled was to the way Shego had described her life before Electronique had turned her good. In a way, the Attitudinator was also a mind-control device; it had made Team Go serve Electronique like Ron and Felix had served Adrena. Was it just that serving her seemed like the sensible thing to do to the former heroes with their new perspective? Kim looked at Shego. Setting up as a school teacher probably wouldn't have occurred to the old Shego, even if she had a relevant degree.

"Uh, yeah. So, really, we can't risk taking anyone with us. It's going to have to be a two woman job."

"Don't be too hasty, though. You have lots of friends, and we all want to help, if we can. Maybe we can find some way around her powers."

"What he said, KP."

"We... we can probably take a while to get ready. Electronique likes to be prepared. That last attack was so out of the blue that I'm not sure it was part of her plan, and given it failed, I think she is going to take her time preparing for the next one."

"Well, I suppose you know her better than me. Are you sure you want to risk leaving your brothers in her hands for any longer?"

"My brothers seemed to be fine when we tussled. I'd rather we do things right than mess it up rushing it. Given her device, we might not get another chance if we fail."

"There is that. We can't wait for too long, though. If she really likes to make careful plans, we should probably strike before she's ready."

"True, but we don't even know where she is. I'd suspect Go City, but we are going to need to narrow it down."

"I'll call Wade again, maybe together we can find some way to track her down. We will stop Electronique and Adrena Lynn, and we will get your brothers back."

Kim just hoped they'd manage to do it before something worse happened.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Adrena Lynn found Electronique in her study, seated in front of a laptop. She wasn't sure how familiarly she could act with her, but she felt safe enough to test it by bending over her shoulder to look at the screen. She was somewhat surprised to find that Electronique was looking at images of attractive young women dressed in a variety of flattering, often skintight costumes, even though she was now rather confident about which way her tastes ran.

"I didn't really expect to find you surfing for porn."

"It is not porn. I am doing research."

"And just what were you researching that led you to pics of pretty girls in skimpy outfits?"

"Costumes. Although I plan to keep Team Go in their old costumes for a while longer, eventually I intend to rebrand them as my underlings."

"I really hope you're not thinking about dressing them in anything like that. It would be a daring choice, I give you that, but I don't think it's quite them."

"You, my dear, also need a costume. This is not precisely my area." Electronique indicated the screen. "There is apparently something called 'cosplay'. Many of these young women make their own costumes, some of which appear quite appropriate for villains. I was looking for inspiration."

"Well, some of them do look rather inspiring."

"You are talking about the women, aren't you." It wasn't really a question.

"Would you like me to recruit one for a... consultation? Of course, you'd need to turn off my cuffs for that."

"Perhaps later." Electronique closed the lid of the laptop and got up. "It is not a pressing concern. Like I said, for the time being I want it to be perfectly clear to everyone that it is indeed Team Go doing my bidding."

"And what are you going to bid them to do? You haven't really gone all out to parade Team Go to the world." Adrena followed Electronique. She wasn't sure where she was headed, but assumed she was to follow.

"You are not counting one high-profile prison break, I see." Electronique turned to look at her over her shoulder. "I did send you all for a mission, but you saw fit to ruin it when it was barely begun."

Adrena swallowed. She wanted to protest that it hadn't been her fault, but she feared that might have been pushing it.

"Well, I suppose it wasn't _entirely_ your fault, darling. Team Go are not very well suited for subtle work. But you have learned your lesson, have you not?"

"I... I hope so."

Electronique stopped and turned to face Adrena. "Now that you have had some time to think about it, can you tell me what you should have done?"

Electronique's voice was mild, but Adrena felt nervous. She had already had some experience with Electronique's particular brand of the carrot and stick approach. She didn't want to feel the stick again, but the carrot was very enticing.

"I should have followed Shego to find out where she was staying. Then I could have planned my attack at leisure." It was obvious in retrospect, but the opportunity had seemed too good to pass up at the time. It was hard to think things through when you were tired, irritated, and had four morons breathing down your neck.

Electronique smiled and reached out to caress Adrena's cheek. "Very good, my dear. Perhaps I'll keep you around." The gesture felt much nicer than Adrena would have expected.

Electronique turned to walk on. "Now, I have some work to do, and though I suppose you could assist by handing me tools, I think your time would be better spent trying to work on your minion wrangling skills. Why don't you go play with the Go brothers for a while?"

"I'll do just that."

Adrena wasn't thrilled with the prospect, but she was getting a sense of where the limits of their current relationship were. Electronique was still firmly in charge. Well, it wasn't so bad. Adrena knew she didn't always make the best calls, and it wasn't altogether unpleasant to have her welfare in the hands of another, especially if those hands belonged to someone like Electronique.

And she really should drill Team Go into some sort of order if she wanted to finally get her revenge on Kim Possible and Shego. Electronique might do it for her, but much as she was getting reconciled to the notion, that was one thing she'd rather earn for herself. She set off to find her goon squad.

* * *

Adrena Lynn stared at Team Go lined up in front of her in the big studio and realized she had absolutely no idea on where to start. She didn't know a thing about commanding a team. She thought she had done pretty well with her minions, but those under her power reacted to her wishes like they were extensions of herself. She had no experience whatsoever in herding goons. She couldn't just go back to Electronique to ask for pointers now; she could imagine her disappointment. She needed to figure this out for herself.

She knew what to do with the members of Team Go, individually. Need something broken? Point Hego at it. Need something broken into? It was Mego's job. Wego were always handy when you needed bodies for something simple. But how would she go about turning them into an effective fighting team? What team tactics they had, they had worked out among themselves over the years, and Adrena knew nothing about them. Communication was an issue. She dearly wished she could just control them and have them know what she wanted them to do.

Perhaps that was the place to start; drilling unquestioning obedience into them. That's what the instructors in military movies did, right? She could worry about maneuvers and things like that later.

"Alright, you useless excuses for henchmen." Was this the right tone? The drill sergeants always seemed mean. "I'm in charge, and you will do what I say, without question and without delay. Is that clear?"

"Uh, what is it that you want us to do?"

"Just because Electronique is too busy to play with you doesn't mean you need to waste our time."

"Your time is mine to waste, if I want to. Or should we go ask Electronique?"

Adrena cringed mentally. She knew it was a mistake to appeal to Electronique. She should be able to make Team Go obey her without hiding behind Electronique's back. But what could she do? She could maybe beat up Mego, if he stayed still, but there was absolutely nothing she could do to Hego. She really needed something to discipline them with. Maybe if she asked Electronique really, really nicely, she would whip something up for her. Maybe a literal whip. She cleared her mind before she got too sidetracked.

"You know how that would go, don't you boys?" For the time being, she didn't really have a choice but to appeal to the source of her authority over Team Go. "So do you have any other inane objections, or shall we get on with it?"

"Fine. You want to play drill sergeant that bad, let's just get it over with."

"The correct answer was 'Yes, Ma'am'. You can do twenty laps around the room for that one." Mego gave her an angry scowl, but turned to obey. "Shrunken down." That got her another scowl, but at least he shrunk himself, which had the benefit that she didn't need to look at him anymore.

"The rest of you will obey like good boys, won't you?"

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am!" Adrena smirked at the chorused response. Yes, she was clearly onto something.

* * *

"You look like you enjoyed yourself, my dear. And they looked like they didn't. Excellent."

"It was pretty satisfying bossing them around, but it'll be a while before I manage to whip them into something useful. Which reminds me, a whip would be nice. I need something to enforce discipline with."

"Much as I appreciate the image of you and whips, I'm afraid you'd just hurt yourself with one, darling. You should leave that to me. Whips do require some practice to use."

"You sound like you speak from experience."

"Perhaps I do. You do have a point, though. It would be unfortunate if one of the boys developed regrettable ambitions when I'm not present to curb them. I will give the matter some thought."

"I appreciate it."

"You'd better." There was a small smile on Electronique's lips that suggested it wasn't a threat and hinted at which brand of appreciation she would prefer.

"What are you doing, anyway? Researching more cosplayer girls?"

"Not exactly, but it's not entirely unrelated to our earlier discussion. I'm cleaning up what little surveillance footage you managed to get."

"Uh, yeah, that..."

"No need to be apprehensive, darling. We have already gone over the matter, and I consider the subject closed. Just do better next time."

"I will."

"I have faith in you. Perhaps it would make you feel better if I told you that you did manage to discover one valuable thing I was not previously aware of."

"Really?" Apart from Kim and Shego's cooperation she couldn't recall learning anything interesting.

"Come take a look."

Electronique beckoned her with a finger, and Adrena rounded the table to peer at the screen of the laptop. She was surprised when Electronique pulled her into her lap, wrapping one possessive arm around her. Well, she wasn't going to complain about that. She felt sparks on her skin where the arm touched her waist, which might have been entirely literal.

Electronique began playback, and Adrena saw a scene taking place in the parking lot of Kim's school. Kim was talking to an African-America girl Adrena remembered seeing with her before. Despite Adrena's best efforts with the directional microphone, their conversation was lost among the sound of the wind. It was almost as though they were whispering, even without any obvious eavesdroppers, few sibilant hisses the only audible part of their voices.

Kim straightened a little, and suddenly her voice came in loud and clear. Adrena wasn't sure if Kim had raised her voice, or if she'd just finally managed to point the microphone correctly at that point. _"_ _Oh, thanks again for helping me with the outfit."_

Her friend's reply was also audible. _"As you say: 'no big'._ _You know_ _I'm always down_ _for_ _helping my BFF. I just wish you'd_ _have_ _let me design it, too. I was dying to get a crack at it. I have a stack of sketches in my room."_

" _I know. I'm sorry, Monique, but I just felt like I needed a more experienced designer. Next time I update my look I'll talk to you first."_

" _You'd better. So, who'd you got to do it? I've been racking my brain for a while now, but I just don't recognize the style. Was it anyone famous?"_

" _Uh, they have some, uh, notoriety, I guess."_

" _Talk to me, girl. Fashion is my thing. I'm not just a glorified seamstress."_ Then the two girls entered the building, and the rest of their conversation was lost.

Electronique placed a finger on Adrena's cheek to turn her to face her. The touch was electric, and Adrena was now sure the villainess was using her power on her. And it was a power, as she'd had an opportunity to learn. The suit made Electronique more powerful and versatile, but she could channel electricity through her body even when not wearing it.

"I believe we have an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, but I'm afraid it will require you to make another road trip to Middleton, darling."

"Please, not again. I've spent most of my time since I got out of jail in a van with those morons."

"Well, since the mission requires some discretion, maybe I won't saddle you with Team Go this time." Electronique's finger caressed Adrena's jawline, the electrifying touch making her jaw quiver. "I can put them to good work here in Go City in the meantime. And you, my dear, get to use your power as you choose. You are clear on what I want you to do?"

"Take control of Kim's pretty friend, and bring her back as a hostage."

"And a costume designer. You do need a costume of your own, my dear."

"Do I leave a note?"

"No, darling. We can contact Kim Possible at our pleasure. It would be best if you managed to not be seen." Electronique didn't say 'this time', but she didn't need to.

"I'll be careful."

"I know you will. Any questions?"

"Have you considered cameras?"

"Pardon?"

"If you want to send a message, nothing beats TV. We're hiding in a TV studio already. Get some cameras and we can let the world know Team Go work for you. Or taunt Kim Possible, or whatever you choose."

"You just miss being on camera, don't you?"

"I do look damn good on a screen."

"I will not contradict you. I'll take the matter under consideration."

"I appreciate that."

"Speaking of appreciation, since you will have another long day tomorrow, what do you say to turning in early?"

The look in Electronique's eyes made Adrena shiver, this time in anticipation. "That sounds good to me." Electronique had been right: this had turned into a mutually pleasurable arrangement.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Kim Possible posed in the doorway of the guest room, dressed in a lacy negligee she had not previously found an occasion to use. She leaned against the door frame with one arm, the other hand resting suggestively on her mostly bare thigh.

"Kim." Shego's voice choked as she looked at Kim with wide eyes, sitting on the edge of the bed dressed in her nightgown.

"You like?"

Shego swallowed. "What are you doing here, Kim?" Her voice was hoarse.

"I think you know."

Kim moved into the room, pulling the door closed behind her. She stalked towards Shego like a predator, hips swinging enticingly. Appropriately Shego sat frozen like prey, green eyes fixed on hers. Kim's piercing gaze shifted from the big eyes to Shego's parted lips.

"Kim, we can't."

It was a weak protest, and they both knew it. Kim pushed Shego down on the bed and straddled her hips, looking down on the unprotesting woman. She leaned down to capture her lips with her own. For a while Shego just lay there, accepting the advance, but after a while she started kissing her back and wrapped her arms around Kim.

"Shego," Kim whispered as she slipped a hand between her thighs, lying on top of the woman.

"Shego," Kim whispered as she slipped a hand between her thighs, lying alone in her bed. Turned on by her fantasy as she was, it didn't take her long at all to bring herself to a climax. She lay on top of her sheets afterward, covered in sweat and panting. She knew that if anyone walked in right now, it would be obvious what she had been doing. She imagined Shego walking in on her, and almost started touching herself again.

Kim knew it was bad to have such thoughts about another person, to make them an unwitting star of her lurid fantasies, but being naughty was a thrill she wasn't very familiar with. Imagining herself seducing Miss Go—the proper, modest, blushing Miss Go—made her excited. It wasn't quite the illicit thrill she'd experienced when she was planning to sneak out to seduce Shego all those weeks ago, but it had similar sense of transgression about it. It was moments like this that made her understand Shego, the old Shego. Being a bad girl held an undeniable attraction.

She wished it was the old Shego in the guest room. She knew where she stood with her, and she suspected her little fantasy wouldn't have needed to stay a fantasy. She didn't dare to push it with this good Shego, not with the mixed messages she was giving her. Did she like her or did she not? Would she succumb to seduction like the bad Shego had, or would she resist? Kim didn't know.

Kim liked the nice Shego, she did. It was great to be able to see a side of her she hadn't before. It was just that it hadn't really sunk in before that this was permanent. This wasn't an episode to get to know a different version of Shego before the universe reset itself. The real Shego, the one that had inspired her desire in the first place, was gone.

Kim shivered, feeling cold and alone. She crawled under her sheets and curled up. She tried to fight the tears in her eyes. It was not like Shego had died, she had just changed. That was something that happened to people. Shego had changed before; she hadn't always been evil. Her becoming good again was a positive development. One less villain in the world was a good thing. It was wicked of her to wish it hadn't happened.

It was better for her, too. Shego had been clear she wouldn't have ever dated her while she was still a villain. She wasn't someone she could have built a relationship with. With this new, good Shego it was at least a possibility, even if she was currently reluctant to entertain the notion. Shego might be her teacher for now, but she'd be out of school in a handful of months.

Did she want a relationship with her? She'd been mostly focused on getting Shego in her bed so far. But she liked spending time with her. She liked talking to her and just hanging out. That counted for something, right? She'd never done anything like that with the old Shego, so she didn't really have a point of comparison, but surely she liked this nice Shego even more than the bad, dangerous, sexy Shego. Kim imagined Shego—the real Shego—pinning her down, her words echoing in her mind. _"_ _I could just throw you against the wall and have my way with you."_ She swallowed hard.

Kim groaned and buried her face in her pillow. She liked the new Shego. She wanted the old Shego. But that Shego was gone, and she had already decided that was a good thing. She should concentrate on what she had, or rather, what she didn't have. She could figure out her feelings towards Shego in time, but it hardly mattered if the woman didn't even want to be with her. The first step was to convince Shego to date her. Then she'd know if it worked out or not.

Kim thought her mind was made up, but sleep was long coming.

* * *

The breakfast was a little awkward with Shego squeezed against Kim to fit at the table. Kim found it pleasant enough, but her parents and Shego were still tense around each other. Kim's brothers were already over the novelty of her, and didn't pester her with questions the way they had the first morning Shego had stayed with them. Kim enjoyed the sensation of Shego pressed against her arm while halfheartedly listening to her parents' usual morning talk.

"So, what do you have on schedule for today, honey?"

"A usual day, really. Too much administrative work. One rather interesting glioma. Oh, and I'm meeting a specialist for a consultation about Ms. Go's brain scans."

Kim perked up. "Do you think they'll be able to help?"

"I wouldn't get my hopes up; we have some pretty smart people at our department, and none of us know what to make of it. But I'll let you know tonight."

"I'm grateful for all the effort you've put into trying to help my brothers, Dr. Possible."

"Well, we haven't really been able to make any progress, but you're welcome. I'm afraid this will be up to you, Kim."

"Yeah, I was afraid of that. Wade and I are trying to track down Electronique. Then I just have to figure out how to get that machine from her."

"It won't be easy. Electronique was never a pushover."

"Perhaps she wasn't, but you didn't have my Kimmie-cub to help you back then."

"Dad, Team Go were superheroes."

"I'm sure they were, Kimmie, but you can still show them some things." His brows creased. "Hero things, I mean. Not anything else."

"I got it, dad."

"So, how goes the hunt for colleges? Have you made your choice yet?"

"I've been pretty preoccupied, dad."

"I understand you have a lot on your plate, Kim, but do make the time to get your applications sent. It's a very important step for your future."

"Your mother is right, Kimmie. If you need any help with them, just ask me."

"I might take you up on that." Kim pictured Shego leaning over her as she sat by her desk with the forms, Shego's perfume in her nostrils, her long hair falling on her shoulders and tickling her neck. She shook herself and concentrated on her breakfast before she got too worked up.

* * *

Following breakfast Kim and Shego got in the car and headed for school. It was a little earlier than Kim usually set off, but Shego wanted to make sure she made it in in good time.

"Is it okay if we pick up Ron on the way?" Kim didn't really want Ron around when she could be alone with Shego, but she felt guilty about neglecting him, especially with his scooter out of action.

"Is he going to school this early?"

"If he wants a ride, he can get up when the ride is there."

"Yes, of course you can pick him up, Kimmie."

Kim drove in silence for a while, trying to find a way to broach an awkward topic. "Uh, so... there's something I've been meaning to bring up, but there hasn't really been a good time..."

"Are you sure this is a good time?"

"Well, no, but... I mean, there might not be a better time anytime soon."

"I assume it's not a school matter."

"No, it's really not."

"Kim, if this is about us, I already told you that we can't be involved."

"Even if you are going to stay here, I'm not going to be a high school student much longer."

"Kim..."

"You enjoyed yesterday, right?"

"Yes, I did. It's been a long time since I've been able to just hang out with friends."

"Friends." Kim didn't mean for her voice to sound so bitter.

"Yes, friends."

"Anyway, I wanted to let you know I got tested and I don't have anything," Kim said airily. "What about you?"

"I... uh... I, I haven't really had time to... but that's good. It's good that... uh..."

Kim knew she shouldn't feel good about the way Shego was reduced to stuttered words and flushed cheeks, and she knew she shouldn't have just sprung that up on her like that, but she had wanted to make it clear that whatever their relationship was, just 'friends' didn't cover it.

"It is, but you'd better find the time to get tested before the next time, just in case."

"Kim..."

"I know, I know, you can't date a student. But you always say 'can't', not 'won't'. In a few months that won't be an issue anymore. I can wait that long." Although she'd prefer not to.

"Kimmie, it's not just that. We're in different places in our lives, and looking for different things. It would be better if you dated someone you had more in common with."

"And who would that be? There aren't many people who can keep up with me. You can."

"That's not me anymore. I'm out of that life."

"Don't tell me you don't miss the excitement."

"I don't. I just want a life for myself. A real life."

"My life is real."

"I know it is, I didn't mean to imply it wasn't. I remember how exciting it all was, when I was your age. But that was long ago, and I want to move on."

"You mean that, don't you? You really aren't... you really aren't her anymore."

"I am me. The real me, the me I was always supposed to be, if I hadn't lost my way somehow."

"But the Shego I knew is gone."

"It's better that way. She was not a good person."

They drove on in silence for a while.

"Do you think your brothers are gone?"

"We can bring them back. We will get that device and figure out how to reverse whatever it does."

"We will." Kim paused. "When we do, do you... do you think we should do that to you, too?"

"What? No! Why are you even suggesting that? Do you miss your enemy that much?"

"No, hear me out. Electronique changed all of you against your will. If we are going to change your brothers back, maybe we should do that to you, too. Shego... the original Shego, she didn't deserve it either."

"Then I'd be gone! I have every bit as much right to be here as she did. More so! I'm a good person, I can do so much good in the world she never would have done. She was evil."

"She wasn't all bad... I think much of her evil girl persona was just an act."

"I think you have an overtly romantic view of her. You didn't really know her. Trust me, I have the memories. I wish I didn't."

"You said you don't really understand her motivations, though. Maybe you view her too harshly?"

"She was a villain, Kim. Just because you... just because you found her attractive doesn't make her a good person."

"I find you attractive, too."

"Do you, really? I think you are still hung up on her, enough that you're thinking about... You don't even know me. The real me."

"Then give me a chance to get to know you."

"Kimmie..."

"I'm not asking you to date me." At least, not quite yet. "We can still do things together, right?"

"Well, we kinda have already."

"Yeah. So where's the harm? Is there something you'd like to do?"

"Well, I saw an ad for Upperton Museum of Modern Art yesterday, and the exhibit seemed interesting. I don't know if that's your kind of thing..."

"I like art. I'd totally go with you, if you want me to."

"It would be nice to have someone with me, and I don't really know many people here."

"Great! It's a d... uh, yeah, let's do that."

Kim and Shego drove on in uncomfortable silence. Kim felt like she had taken a step forward and two steps back. Did this new Shego really not see her as a romantic prospect? Kim felt queasy at the thought that this time things might not work out for her. She pushed the uneasiness down. She could still win Shego over. She could do anything.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

"I had the strangest dream, KP," said Ron from the back seat of Kim's car.

"Later, Ron," Kim said as she pulled into the school parking lot. She was surprised to see Barkin at the parking lot as she got out of the car, but she thought that perhaps he had just beaten them there.

"Good morning, Miss Go," Barkin said as Shego got up from the passenger side, with a pleasant smile he didn't show his students. "Possible, Stoppable."

"Good morning, Stevie."

"Good morning, Mr. Barkin." As much as Shego's nickname for him always freaked Kim out, it paid to be civil, especially to the person who could stick you in detention.

"Since I'm here, I thought I'd volunteer to walk you in, Miss Go."

"That's very nice of you, Stevie. I'll see you later, Kimmie."

"Yeah, bye."

"Man, it's so weird seeing him put the moves on Shego," Ron said as the teachers were out of earshot. "I mean, it's weird to see him do that already, but Shego makes it extra weird, you know?"

"You think he's hitting on her?"

"Yeah, duh, why else would he be trying to be all chivalrous?"

"I don't even want to think about it." Kim shivered. "That's just sick and wrong."

"It's what I've been saying all along."

"Well, never mind. We should have time to catch up with Wade before class. Let's go."

"I would be delighted to escort you, m'lady."

Kim gave Ron an unimpressed look and headed for the doors. Ron scrambled after her.

* * *

Kim was not surprised to find that Wade was already seated in front of his computer when she turned on the communication equipment built into her locker.

"Morning, Kim. What's up?"

"The usual. I assume there's been no developments on the deprogramming front?"

"No, we've pretty much exhausted all the options. We need that device."

"Right, and for that we need to find the bad guys. Has there been any activity?"

"Too much of it, Kim. With Team Go out of the picture, a number of Go City villains are starting to make moves. It makes it harder to locate Electronique. Assuming she is even in Go City in the first place."

"I'm pretty sure she is. Her beef is with Team Go, and she always tried to take over Go City. Has there been any sightings of Team Go?"

"A couple of scattered ones, and I'm not sure they're legit. They've kept a pretty low profile."

"Keep tracking them, please and thank you. We can't really do anything until we find out where Electronique is hiding."

"Will do, Kim." Wade's eyes shifted to her right and his attitude suddenly became a lot more hesitant. "Oh, uh, hi, Monique."

Kim turned around to see her friend approach them. "Morning, Monique."

"Hi, Kim. Hi, Ron." Monique briefly glanced at the screen. "Wade."

Kim cringed. Things were clearly still a little tense between the two. His transgression had been forgiven, but not, it seemed, forgotten. It probably didn't help that it was unfortunately topical again. Emotion manipulation might not be quite as heinous as Adrena Lynn's mind control or Electronique's personality reversal, but it definitely had a similar shade about it.

"When we get that thing, can we turn Shego back, too? Her being all nice is getting too freaky for me."

"Uh, you want to turn her back into a villain? What's wrong with you, Ron? Did you forget about the FHD?"

"Shego being all buddy-buddy with KP is what's wrong, Monique. And don't get me started with her hanging with Mr. Barkin. That's sick and wrong."

"Kim, tell your boy he's being... Kim, what's with that look?"

"Nothing, it's just... should we maybe think about it?"

"Thank you!"

"Kim, what is with you? Don't let Ron's crazy affect you."

"It's just that her personality also got reversed against her will. That's wrong, right? I mean, if we get the device, we aren't just going to go around turning villains good, are we?"

"That actually could do a lot of good..." Wade blanched at the looks Kim and Monique gave her. "I mean, no, we won't, doing that against someone's will is obviously wrong."

"Yeah, so should we turn Shego back?"

"Has she volunteered?"

"No, she wants to stay as she is."

"Then we can't. If it's wrong to turn evil Shego good then it's certainly wrong to turn good Shego evil."

"So we shouldn't undo Electronique's crime?"

"We can't undo it, Kim. All you could do is add another crime to the first. Two wrongs don't make a right."

"This is so the drama, guys. I mean, doesn't that mean we shouldn't turn Team Go back, either?"

"No, we definitely should... right?"

"Yeah, I mean, they would want to be changed back, right? Who'd want to be evil?" Ron said, apparently oblivious to the irony.

"Of course they would. They are heroes, they wouldn't want to be bad guys."

"Yeah, that's right. I'm sorry, guys, this sitch is just a little hard for me to wrap my mind around. We can pick this up later, but now I think I need to head for class."

"Right you are. Later, Kim. I'll keep monitoring the situation."

"Oh, man, I need to get to my locker. Bye, KP!"

Kim retrieved the books for her next class from the locker. When she turned around, she found Monique looking at her with a searching expression.

"Kim, are you really thinking about turning Shego back?"

"I just thought it might be the right thing to do."

"Did you? Or do you just miss your bad girl and want her back?"

"Monique! It isn't like that. I just started thinking that if this thing turned her into a completely different person, then, in a way, the Shego I knew is dead. And that if we could bring her back, maybe we should."

"By killing Miss Go? Because if you think that what that machine does is some sort of death of personality, then that is what you are suggesting."

"I didn't really think about... no, I couldn't do that."

"I think you are reading too much into it, Kim. I mean, she's still Shego, right? Even if she is nicer now."

"Yeah, at first I just saw her as the same person, it's only now that I've started to really think about the differences."

"I think what that machine did is just what you've said it does: it changed her personality. It happens to everybody. You aren't the same person you were ten years ago, but the younger Kim isn't dead; she just grew up to be you. With Shego, that change just happened in seconds rather than years."

"Do you really think so?"

"Yes, I do. You always told me Shego isn't as evil as people think she is. Can't you of all people see how that Shego could have become this Shego, even without some mad science doohickey?"

"I guess. I mean, I always hoped that I could be a good influence on her."

"Redeem her with your love, right? Well, I guess that is kinda romantic."

"You don't think it would have worked, do you?"

"I'm sure we've all dreamed about that hot jerk who secretly has a heart of gold only we can see."

"So, no."

"No. Everyone's better off with her good. Even her. She seems happy, now."

"She doesn't want to date me."

"Then that's her loss. It's not the end of the world, Kim. You will find somebody who wants to be with you."

"Monique..." Kim's question was cut short by the bell.

"Sorry, Kim, gotta hurry for class. See you later."

"Yeah, later." Kim gave retreating Monique one last speculative look and then headed for her own class.

* * *

The school day dragged on as only school days can, with one uninterested teacher after another trying to halfheartedly educate a bored class on an uninspiring subject. Kim had plenty of time to worry about Shego's brothers and fantasize about the woman herself. More often than not she found herself recalling her first fling with Shego weeks ago. As nice as hanging out with Shego had been, a day spent on a not-date with a respectable teacher couldn't compare to the sinful thrill of a secret night-time rendezvous with a wanted—oh, so wanted—woman.

But that was only lust, surely. It might make for a memorable encounter, but it was not something you could really build a relationship on. With the good Shego she could have a deeper, more meaningful connection. If that was what she really wanted. Much as she cherished the notion of finding that special someone to share her life with, she knew that most people had dating histories a little longer than hers. Chances were that she wasn't going to find the one in high school. Shego had had plenty of partners before her, though she didn't know if any of them had been serious.

The classes ended eventually, and Kim sighed in relief. She only had cheer practice left and that, at least, was mostly fun, as long as she and Bonnie kept to their unspoken agreement to pretend their times together had never happened, and would never happen again. That, certainly, was strictly teenage lust. Kim didn't even like her. Their brief affair would have been long buried, if fate didn't insist on throwing them in such compromising situations. Kim would like to see anyone resist the temptation for one last dalliance when literally stuck to their hot ex for a couple of days.

Kim was on her way to the lockers to change for the practice when Shego overtook her in the hall, looking troubled.

"Shego," Kim said, happy that there was no one within earshot to hear her slip. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, Kimmie, I'm glad I found you. I... I need your help."

"Of course! Anything."

"Stevie asked me out."

"Eh? You mean Mr. Barkin?"

"Mm-hmm. What do I do?"

"You can tell him to back off. I know you're only a substitute and maybe you feel you can't cross the assistant principal, but he's way out of line harassing you like that."

"What? No, no, Kimmie, it's not unwanted, I've been hoping he'd ask. I said yes! But it's been so long since I last dated I'm not... I'm not sure what I should do."

"You said yes?" Kim had a sudden experience of looking at the two of them from outside her body.

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I? He's so sweet."

"Barkin? Sweet?" She heard the words, but she couldn't really resolve them. She felt a stinging sensation along her thighs and there was a high-pitched hum in her ears.

"Yeah, he's always doing little things like leaving me gifts and holding open doors. And he's so nice to children! Did you know he volunteers for Pixie Scouts?"

Kim was sure she couldn't be hearing this right. This wasn't happening. She had fallen asleep in class, and she was going to wake up to Barking yelling at her any second now. Her chest constricted. It was difficult to breathe.

"Kimmie?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you all right?"

"Yes." Kim looked at Shego with wild eyes. "Why wouldn't I be?"

There was concern in Shego's eyes. "It's just you look a little out of it."

" _Why him and not me?_ " Kim didn't shout at Shego as she tried to get herself under control. "This was just a little unexpected, that's all. I didn't have any idea you were even interested in him."

"Yes, well, I guess I haven't really talked about it."

Kim wasn't surprised. Shego had to know how she felt about her. She'd told her. Maybe the new Shego had been too nice to hurt her feelings by bringing it up. It would explain her efforts to gently push her away. Of course, that evasiveness had let her build her hopes up only to have them dashed so brutally, and that was neither nice nor fair. Could she actually have been been just stringing her on until she was sure of Barkin?

With a shock that filled her stomach with ice Kim realized that she had been doing the same thing to Ron. She was preparing to walk out of their relationship without giving Ron the smallest hint it was even on the cards. She had been telling herself she didn't want to hurt him, but now she wondered if she'd just been avoiding the painful necessity for her own sake. Had she been waiting until she was sure of having Shego before ending things with Ron? She didn't want to think she could be that unfair.

"No," Kim said. "I guess you haven't." She still felt numb, but her mind was slowly clearing, and her resolve was building. "Well, I'm no love guru, but maybe I can get you started."

"You'll really help me?" The look in Shego's eyes was a sweet mixture of concern and happy relief. It made Kim want to cry.

"Sure. I already promised I would." Even if she broke her heart. Again.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Kim sat on the couch in front of the TV, not seeing or hearing anything. She'd planned to spend the evening with Shego. Shego had had other plans; or rather, Barkin had. Kim shuddered. She couldn't process the thought of Shego going on a date with Steve Barkin. She couldn't understand what she could possibly see in him.

Moments when she'd seen the two together flitted through her mind, put in new context. In retrospect it was obvious that Barkin had been interested in her from the start. Kim couldn't really blame him; Shego was gorgeous, and her being so nice made her easy to approach. She'd taken advantage of that herself. She didn't think Shego had given him any signs, but maybe she'd just missed them. She was clearly not very good at reading her.

They'd only known each other for a few days, too. Shego kept her at an arm's length, but went on a date with the first man who asked. What was up with that? Kim couldn't help feeling Shego had been playing her. Then she reminded herself that Shego had expressly told her they couldn't be together. But she had said that was because they were a teacher and a student, not because she was looking someplace else. Kim groaned.

How long was Shego going to be, anyway? It was getting late. What were they doing that took this long? Cold chills crept along Kim's spine as she pictured Shego and Barkin back at his place, her in his arms and locked in a kiss, him peeling her clothes off... No, that couldn't be it. Someone as proper as the good Shego surely wouldn't jump into bed on the first date. Surely it was something more innocent. But why was she taking so long?

Kim turned off the television; it wasn't like she had been watching it, anyway. She got up, then couldn't decide what she wanted to do and paced around the now dark den for a while. Perhaps she should have agreed to Shego's suggestion to make it a double date. The thought of watching the object of her fantasies making eyes at someone else, to Barkin of all people, had not appealed to her, but at least she would have known just what was going on. Not that anything was going on. They were probably just talking, Barkin boring her with his interminable remembrances. But this long?

What was Shego playing at? Was she seriously interested in Barkin, or was this just another ploy to push her away? But didn't the fact that she kept pushing her away imply she was after something else? Kim remembered Shego telling her she wanted a real life. What did that mean? A quiet job and an office romance instead of action and illicit hook ups? If so, she really had changed.

* * *

The sound of someone scrabbling at the front door reached Kim's ears, and she went to the door. Shego had asked to borrow a key for tonight, in case she was late, and Kim had complied. Shego managed to open the door before she did. Kim's stomach went cold at the sight of her smile. She looked like she had enjoyed herself. Kim tried to force a smile herself. She kept her voice low to avoid disturbing her presumably sleeping parents.

"Had a good time?"

"I did."

Kim would have preferred that she hadn't. "So, what did you do?"

"We had dinner, and talked."

"That's all?" Kim was pretty sure she had shown Shego a better time than that.

"Yeah, it was a nice conversation. Stevie has such fascinating stories."

"Fascinating isn't really what I'd call them." Kim didn't have that much direct experience with the man's stories, but Ron had regaled her with descriptions of his rambling anecdotes.

"I guess as his student you don't get to hear about his sensitive side. He's such a nice man. He promised to take me rollerskating for our second date!"

"I've always wanted to go, but Ron isn't too keen. He has trouble staying on his feet."

Kim would have loved to go rollerskating with Shego. She had been wasting her time trying to date Ron, just like Shego was wasting her time trying to date Barkin. Shego might not realize it yet, but she would in time. She had thought she and Ron had been doing all right for a while, but in the end, women like them needed someone more exciting than Ron or Barkin.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Kimmie."

"Yeah." Kim was sorry too.

The two women stood in silence, looking at each other. Shego looked beautiful in the dress Kim had helped choose and with her hair up. Getting Shego ready for a date with someone else had been a painful experience, but foolish pride had compelled Kim to follow through on her promise. She would have preferred to have Monique's help, but her fashion expert friend had been busy with something when she called.

"Why him, Shego? Why not me?" It was the one question that had been on her mind all evening.

"I told you, I'm your teacher..."

"Only until this spring! You could have waited. You've only been here a few days, you didn't need to jump into dating the first man to show interest."

"Kim, he's the first decent man to show interest in me in years."

"I don't believe that. Not with the way you look."

"Real interest, I mean, not just... He's the first person in as long as I remember who wants me for more than just a night of fun."

"What about me?"

"That's all you ever wanted from me." Shego's voice was very subdued.

"I though that was all I could get. But that's changed, you're not the same anymore. We could... we could have more, now."

"I wish I could believe you, but it doesn't matter anymore. Stevie is... Stevie is more what I'm looking for."

"How so?" What did he have to offer that she didn't?

"He's an adult in a stable job, for one. He's looking for someone to settle down with, not someone for quick thrills," Shego said. "And, well, he's a man."

"You can't tell me that's a sticking point for you. Me being a girl didn't seem to bother you too much, before."

"There's... there's nothing wrong with dating girls, especially when you are young and searching for yourself and figuring out how relationships work. But when you are an adult and looking to settle down... a man just complements a woman better."

"Why? How does it make any difference?"

"Well, babies, for one thing. I don't think I need to explain that one."

"Babies? You can't seriously be thinking about babies already."

Shego blushed. "Well, maybe not this second, but I am getting to an age where I have to think about it. You're still young, but I would like to have a family, and not in the far future either. I can't have that with another woman."

"Of course you can. You can always adopt, or use a donor."

"Not everyone can adopt, Kimmie. The babies need to come from somewhere. We have a responsibility, as women, to make sure that there will be a next generation. I want my future children to have a father, and I want it to be someone I love, not some stranger." Shego looked down. "And really, it's easier for the children to have traditional, married parents."

"You're just talking about living down to other people's prejudices. That's not the Shego I know. What about your own wants and desires?"

"The Shego you knew was selfish and immature. There is more to life than empty hedonism. This is what it means to be an adult, to take our responsibilities to the larger world seriously. You are... you are still adolescent enough to not see things that way. That's one of the reasons we would never work."

"I don't buy that. Being an adult doesn't mean sacrificing your own happiness."

"But I'm not. This is what I want. I want to love and be loved, I want to be in a meaningful relationship, I want to be a productive member of the society. I want to do something good in my life. The old Shego only thought about herself and her own desires, but she was never happy. I finally have a chance to find that happiness."

"With Barkin?" Kim was sure Shego was just trying to convince herself.

"Maybe. Or maybe he will be a step on that path. I don't know yet. But it's a path that will let my life have meaning, to be a force for good in this world. Isn't that what you want, too?"

"Well, yes... but there are many ways to do that. It doesn't mean just being a, I don't know, a housewife."

"Do you look down on housewives? You don't get to judge other women for their choices."

"I'm not judging anyone, I just don't want you to throw your life away."

"I'm not throwing my life away. I'm trying to build one."

"Why can't it be with me?"

"Kim, answer me honestly: when you look at me, do you see someone that you would want to marry, that you would like to support through thick and thin, to share a life with? Or do you see someone you think could be one more thrill in your life?"

Kim couldn't answer that straight away. Part of her wanted to say that of course she wanted to share her life with Shego, but she wasn't sure that was true. She wasn't necessarily opposed to the idea, but in truth she had never really thought that far. She had wanted to have a relationship with Shego and she hadn't really anticipated an end to it, but she hadn't really given much thought to what it could lead to, especially if Shego wanted to settle down rather than join her in her adventures.

Taking too long to answer was telling in itself. "Is that what you are looking for? Marriage and family?"

"I'm not that young anymore, Kimmie."

"You're not that old, either."

"It's not just age. I want... I want a more settled life. And I don't think you do, not yet."

"I haven't even graduated high school yet. There's a whole world of new experiences waiting for me."

"I know."

Kim wanted Shego, but there were two people in a relationship. It was not fair or right if only one of them was getting what they wanted. She didn't believe that Shego could have changed so much she was actually content to become a suburban housewife, but did she really have the right to contradict her? Wouldn't Shego know her own wants best?

"And you're done with all that? You wouldn't miss the excitement, the thrill?"

"That's not me anymore."

Kim wasn't convinced. "Are you sure? You've only led this new life of yours for a few days."

"I know who I am, Kimmie, better than... is something beeping?"

Kim paused to listen, and heard the faint familiar notes. She glanced at her bare forearm. "Oh, yeah, I left my Kimmunicator in the den."

"Do you think it could be news about my brothers?"

"Wade seems to think it's urgent. I'll check it out, we can pick this up later."

"That's not necessary," said Shego as she followed Kim.

Kim scooped up her Kimmunicator and put it on. "Go, Wade."

"Kim! I'm glad I caught you still awake. Turn on the news."

Kim looked at Shego with a puzzled expression, then turned to locate the remote. It didn't take her long to find the live news feed Wade had to be referring to.

" _...have identified the perpetrator as Hego of Team Go. As yet we do not know why the long-time protector of Go City seems to have turned on its citizens, but I will be ready with an update once we receive new information."_

"Oh, no."

"It seems Electronique is finally making her move."

"We need to get there, Kimmie. We need to stop her before she completely ruins my brothers' good name."

"Or before they endanger the civilians."

"It could be a trap, Kim."

"It almost certainly is. But we still need to go. How long has this been going on?"

"A couple of hours."

"Why didn't you call me earlier?"

"I had to confirm it was them. It wasn't all live on television. Do you want me to arrange for a ride?"

"We can take my car."

"Driving there will take you best part of the day."

"Do you know where the lair is?"

"Not yet."

"We can go pretty fast since the traffic should be thin this time of the night. We can get there by morning. You can work on finding the target in the meanwhile. I'm afraid it will probably be an all-nighter."

"I'm used to those, Kim. Not a problem."

Kim turned to Shego. "You're okay with this, right?"

"Of course, Kimmie. They are my brothers."

"Good. Wade, log all the Team Go sightings. Their headquarters should be somewhere in the middle of the pattern, especially if there's a dead zone."

"I'm on it, Kim."

Kim looked Shego up and down. "Let's get you into something a little more mission-appropriate and get going. It's time to go rescue your brothers."

In a way, Kim found having a crisis at her hands soothing. Unlike the situation with Shego, this was something she was eminently capable of handling. Electronique, Adrena Lynn, and Team Go made for as intimidating an opposition as she'd ever faced, but she knew she could win.

After all, she couldn't afford to lose.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

Kim woke up with a crick in her neck. After a while, other facets of her situation came into focus, like the fabric of her mission clothes on her skin, her cramped position, and the background hum of traffic. She was sitting in her car.

"Good morning, Kimmie."

Kim turned to look at the figure on the driver's seat. "Morning, Shego. How far out are we?"

"We're about forty minutes from Go City. We still don't know our destination there, though."

Kim blinked and focused on the dashboard, looking for the time. "You slowed down."

"The traffic is picking up. And I wasn't really comfortable going past the limits in the first place. The last thing we need is getting stopped by the police."

"They'd have to catch us first." Kim grinned at Shego, but only received a disapproving stare in response. "Hey, I'm sure you want to get to your brothers as soon as possible, too. Besides, this car is tough for radar to pick up."

Kim stretched the best she was able and worked her neck. She hadn't had the most restful night, but she felt alert enough. She looked at Shego, dressed once again in her trademark cat suit. Even with a hoodie covering her top half, she looked much more herself than she had the past few days. She made for a cute substitute teacher, but this woman of action was the real Shego. Kim remembered their last long car trip, and felt tempted to lay her head in Shego's lap.

Shego saw the direction of her gaze, but either she didn't intuit the direction of her thoughts, or simply chose to ignore it. "I can't believe you kept my borrowed costume all this time."

"Hey, waste not, want not. It's a perfectly serviceable piece of clothing." Not that Kim had ever used it for anything but some private entertainment. As much as it was also a reminder of the time when Kim herself had been mind-controlled by a villain, she couldn't view the garment without thinking of Shego.

"I'm not really comfortable wearing something I used for years in my previous life."

"You wore it as a hero, too, not just as a criminal."

"That's true. Maybe it is just appropriate to wear it when we rescue my brothers."

"That's the spirit."

"Speaking of which..?"

"I'll call Wade."

Kim punched a button and the screen built into the dashboard sprang to life, displaying Wade's face. His eyes had no red in them, even though Kim was convinced he had been awake since before they left Middleton.

"Have you been able to narrow down a location for us, Wade?"

"Kind of. There were quite a few incidents over the night, and I have logged their locations. Are you convinced the lair is somewhere in the middle? It would be smart to not be that obvious, and according to Shego Electronique is smart."

"She may be, but Team Go aren't that subtle. If she just sent them out to wreak havoc I doubt they'd take the time to cover their tracks."

"Maybe. The pattern is irregular enough that it still leaves quite a bit of ground."

"Are there any low-traffic areas? Maybe abandoned warehouses or the like?"

"This is Go City, Kim. Not a whole lot of that near the city center."

Shego broke in. "Electronique will want a place with good power lines. And maybe close to electronics supplies."

"Adrena Lynn would want the world to see her defeat me. So maybe near some convenient landmark, or somewhere she could broadcast from."

"There is an abandoned TV studio in the most likely area."

"That sounds like it could be our target. We'll go check it out. Thanks, Wade."

"Be careful, Kim. And call me if you need anything."

"If you could dig up the floor plan, that would be a big help."

"I'll get on it Kim."

"You think that is the place?"

"I do. It feels right."

"I'm not sure going there with just the two of us feels right."

"It is a challenge, yeah, but with Lynn's power, and the Attitudinator, anyone else would be a potential liability. Just remember the trouble we had with Ron before."

"I remember, both times. What about Felix's idea of armoring his wheelchair?"

"It would protect against Lynn, but we don't know if it would help against Electronique's improved Attitudinator. And it would hurt more than help against Hego by limiting his mobility and visibility."

"We could have come up with something. I really have a bad feeling about this."

"We can do this. Our best bet is to sneak in without a fight, anyway, and that's easier with just you and me. If we can grab the device and get Wade to analyze it, we should be able to figure out how to reverse the effects. Then we can come back and restore your brothers, and we'll have the advantage of numbers. They will hopefully be immune to Lynn's glow, too."

"You know these things never go to plan, right?"

"You know I always come through, right?"

"Well, you were always there to stop Dr. D. I'm just a little nervous with my brothers' fate on the line."

"We'll save them. Park well away from the studio, we'll go by foot."

* * *

Shego pulled the car over to a currently largely empty mall parking lot. It was a few blocks from their target, but Kim figured they'd be harder to spot on foot, and she wanted to sneak in. Before they left the car, she checked with Wade.

"Here's the plans. The building essentially has two parts, the studio on one side and entrance and the offices on the other. Apart from the main entrance, there's one back entrance to the offices and a couple to the studio. There is one entry on the roof, there doesn't seem to be any from under ground. You may be right about the place, it's using way too much power for a disused building."

"Thanks, Wade, you rock. We'll take it from here."

Kim locked up the car, checked her gear, and headed for their target. Shego hurried after her.

"It would have been better if it was still dark."

"Not necessarily. Criminals can't keep an open watch in daylight, so they're much less likely to have anyone patrolling."

"Mego could do it unseen. And Electronique probably has a pretty good surveillance system set up."

"You're the one who's fought her before. Why don't you take the lead?"

"Really? I, uh, I kinda expected you'd want to be in charge."

"I'm not that bad. It makes sense: this is your city, and your old foe."

"I don't know... I'm not the same person I was back then."

"It's not like you've suddenly forgotten how things work. I'll be right behind you."

"You're right. I can do it, for my brothers."

Kim followed as Shego took to the roofs as they neared their target. She dumped her hoodie and at long last looked like herself as she navigated the roofs with surety born out of long practice. It was a pleasure to see her in her own element. The view of her behind in the tight catsuit wasn't bad, either. This was who she really was, and this was where she belonged, not in somebody's kitchen.

They arrived near the abandoned studio and cautiously worked themselves to a place where they could observe without being seen themselves.

"It doesn't look like much. Do you think it's the place?"

"Somebody took the time to block out the windows."

"It could have been done to discourage looters."

"Maybe, but it could also be somebody who wanted privacy."

"This isn't exactly the best place for someone looking for privacy. There's quite a lot of open space with good sight lines."

"True, but there's a narrow alley with no windows on one side. If there's a door there, it'd be pretty easy to come and go without being seen."

"If there is, and that is their primary entrance, it's going to be watched."

"And we can't approach on the open side. We'll need to make our own way."

"Roof?"

"Roof. After you."

Kim followed Shego onto the roof of the warehouse—for once in use—next to the studio. They laid down and cautiously inched their way to the edge of the roof.

"I don't see any cameras or other obvious security."

"Me neither. I could do a scan with my Kimmunicator, but there's a chance they could detect that. Should we risk it?"

"Electronique has never met you, and it's a new model, anyway. Even if they detect it, they shouldn't be able to identify it."

"Would it matter? They'll probably guess it's us."

"That's true. Let's keep a low profile and try to spot any alarms the old-fashioned way."

"Then lead on."

The women backed up from the edge to have a short run to leap across the alleyway and land on the roof of the studio building. They were on the roof of the studio itself, on large even plane on top of the windowless two-story cube. At the other end of the building the part housing the offices actually rose higher, leaving them in view of the top floor windows. Without the need for words the women sprinted towards them, to get in close to the wall to be shielded from view.

"They can't be using the top floors, right? They'd be spotted for sure."

"It wouldn't stop them from placing cameras there, though. We must have been seen already."

"Not necessarily."

"Kimmie, Electronique isn't as lackadaisical about perimeter security as Dr. D was."

"Wasn't that your job?"

"Don't remind me." Shego looked around. "Although if they've seen us, why aren't they attacking yet? Maybe this isn't the place, after all?"

"They can't attack us out here without being seen. They are waiting for us to get in."

"They weren't worried about being seen last night."

"Far from here. They wouldn't want to expose their base."

"If it really is here, it's exposed already."

"It's just us, though, not the police. Maybe they realize we want to keep it low-key until we get your brothers out."

"How are we going to do that? There's bound to be a trap waiting for us. Maybe we should have brought the others, if only as a reserve."

"We can get the job done. We need to find that device and grab it. We can lose them in a pursuit and get Wade to analyze it. We just need to find a way inside they won't expect."

"That probably means making our own entrance." Shego lit her hands. "I can do that, but it won't be subtle."

"If we can't rely on stealth, our next best bet is speed. They can't possibly have spotted us more than a minute or so ago. If we can go in someplace they aren't expecting, we can still catch them with their pants down."

Without warning the brick wall they were leaning against exploded outwards and thick, strong arms grabbed Kim by the waist. She tried to pry herself loose as she was pulled through the ruined wall, but against someone as strong as Hego, it was useless. As she continued to struggle, she saw Shego go down under a torrent of red-clad bodies.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Adrena walked into the lair unannounced, but not unexpected. She knew well that Electronique had the surroundings rigged for sound and vision, and was not surprised to find her waiting as she entered the studio. She was, however, rather touched.

"Hi, honey, I'm home." Adrena was relieved to see the greeting brought on no sign of annoyance on Electronique's face.

"And you brought a pet, I see."

"She answers to Monique." Adrena willed her captive to step forward. "Or anything I want, really."

"Your power is a handy one." Electronique stepped closer to inspect Monique's arms. "But you still like to indulge in some rope-play, I see."

"Hey, I had to take a nap, and I can't control her in my sleep."

"Understandable. We can stash her in your old room when you need a break." She gave Adrena a predatory smile that sent shivers down her spine. "And I promise to use a more gentle rope with you."

"Are you going to use the Reverse Polarizer on her?"

"No, I don't think so. There's no guarantee that it will make her any more cooperative, and it might make her more unruly. It's much easier if you just control her as needed."

"It worked on Team Go. It makes the victims more manageable, right?"

"Broadly speaking, but more does not mean absolutely. I was well acquainted with the brothers Go, and I was quite confident of how they'd respond to me. I do not have similar insight into this Monique. Besides, I think she will be a more useful hostage as she is."

Adrena looked around. "Speaking of the guys; not that I miss them, but where are they?"

"They are out wreaking havoc on Go City. They will be returning shortly."

"You're ready to get started on your revenge?"

"Just trying to get Kim Possible's attention. It's time to capture her and Shego."

"So you are luring them here?"

"I prefer to fight on terrain I have prepared."

"Then why didn't you just let me leave a note for her." Adrena gestured at Monique. "I'm sure she would have come running to rescue her friend."

"That would have made it obvious this is a trap. If we let her think she found us on her own, she will be less on her guard."

"Will she even find us here?"

"She has shown considerable aptitude for finding villain lairs in the past. I'm sure she and her allies will manage. I expect her to arrive in a matter of hours. If she does not, we can always drop another clue for her."

"Hours? I wanted to have my costume ready before I faced her. And I really need some sleep."

"Then I suggest you put your pretty pet to work right away."

Adrena looked at Monique. "Can you get something ready for me in a few hours?" The girl nodded, but otherwise remained passive. Adrena hadn't given her a directive yet, after all. "Let's get you to your new room."

* * *

Adrena woke up from her little nap alone on the bed. The makeshift bedroom was far from any windows, and the light level didn't give her any clue about the time. She assumed Electronique would have woken her if it was time for action. She got up, anyway, and staggered out of the room. She made her way to the cell she had spent her first night in.

"You awake in there?"

"Let me out."

"Is my costume ready?"

"I thought about making orange coveralls for you, but I didn't have the materials."

"Cute. You know, I could be a lot meaner about this."

"You already mind-controlled and kidnapped me. Kim is going to kick your ass so hard for this."

"I don't think you know what you're up against."

"Do you know who you are up against? Kim has brought down some of the most dangerous villains in the world. And you, twice."

"She got lucky. That won't happen this time."

"Keep telling yourself that."

"Enough of this." Adrena opened the cell door, only to have Monique rush her. Her glow stopped the attempt short.

Monique obediently faced her. "I stopped working on the costume once I figured you were no longer watching me."

That wasn't altogether surprising. Adrena thought that maybe she should have been meaner about it. It just seemed so pointless when her power bent people to her will, absolutely. She didn't even need to communicate her questions in words.

"I can have something done in half an hour, but it won't wear well."

That would have to do. All she really wanted right now was to rub Kim Possible's nose in it. She didn't expect to need to engage her in hand-to-hand combat; she had minions for that. She was realistic enough to know she would probably lose that fight, anyway, unless Electronique had something for her that would even things up. Adrena left her once again loyal minion to her task and went searching for Electronique.

Electronique was lounging in an office chair while keeping an eye on a number of screens showing views around the studio building. There was no movement on any of them.

"No sign of them yet, huh?"

"No. I rather expected them to have shown up already. Perhaps I overestimated them."

"Maybe, but she can be annoyingly capable." Adrena seated herself on a console next to Electronique. "So, do you have any presents for me?"

"Do you expect me to spoil you? You were the one going on a trip. I believe that means you owe me a souvenir."

"Hey, I brought you a pet."

"She's more your pet than mine, but I guess that's something. Yes, I do have something for you. Mind the screens for a while."

Electronique walked out of the surveillance room and Adrena sat in her seat. It was still warm. She took a look at the screens, but there was no sign of intruders. Electronique wasn't gone long, and Adrena quickly got up before she had cause to chastise her. Electronique handed two items to her.

"They are sticks."

"Escrima sticks, with a signature enhancement from me. You will want to hold them by the insulated end."

Adrena took a stick into her hands, noting that both had a rubber handhold at one end. There was a bump that felt like a button. She pressed it, and the other end of the stick crackled with electricity.

"Are these safe?"

"Not for anyone you hit them with. Are you familiar with stick combat?"

"Not particularly." Adrena tried a few basic baton strikes she knew. "I'll get the hang of it."

"Those should give you quite an edge over young Kim Possible, since she appears to insist on fighting unarmed. Shego might be a different matter."

"These are really cool. Thanks."

"Take a while to get acquainted with them. And make sure the boys are not sleeping. Our intrepid heroes could make an appearance any moment now."

Adrena wasn't as sanguine about that estimate as Electronique, but she left to check up on Team Go, anyway, and took the opportunity to test her new weapons on Hego.

"Ow, why did you shock me?"

"Mego shrunk down before I could hit him." Mego would have made a better target for a number of reasons. Adrena suspected Hego was too tough to be a good baseline for the weapon's effectiveness.

"Like I'd let you poke me with that stick." Mego's voice came from the direction of the couch.

"Anyway, look alive. We might be getting some company soon."

"Finally some action," Wego said. "I've been getting bored," Wego said.

"Didn't you guys terrorize Go City all last night?"

"Yeah, and it was fun." "Would have been fun to do it today, too."

"Whatever. Just be ready."

Adrena practiced with her new weapons for a while, trying to get used to them. It was pretty tricky to hit the activation button on command while swinging them, and she suspected it was safest to use them either as a baton or a shock prod rather than both at once, at least for the time being. Before long she got bored with the training and went to see if Monique had her costume ready yet.

* * *

The alarm came as Monique was helping the costume on her, her touch deft yet servile in accordance with Adrena's wishes. The costume was not unlike the outfit she'd customarily worn on her show, consisting of a long-sleeved top and tights. The basic color was black, and Monique had sewn orange patches on, in imitation of the pattern of Team Go uniforms. Adrena didn't think the color really suited her, but she could see the logic of it.

The costume was ill-fitting, converted from something Monique had had half-finished in her room when she came for her. The top was a little tight on her, and left her toned stomach bare. Adrena hoped Electronique would appreciate it. She decided that the outfit was fine enough to show. It wasn't much of a villain costume, but her captive costumer would have time to work on it later.

Electronique met her in the corridor, not seeming to be in any rush. "Ah, there you are. Follow me; we have guests to welcome."

"They're captured already?"

"It was easier than I expected. Perhaps I did overestimate them."

Adrena followed Electronique, stunned. After all the trouble she'd had, to have two such dangerous women as Kim Possible and Shego captured in an instant seemed unreal. Perhaps there was something to only acting when one was well-prepared.

Electronique led the way to the studio, and up to the catwalk. "Presentation is an essential part of villainy, my dear. What better way to convey our superiority than to literally stand above our enemies." She paused to take Adrena in. "Speaking of presentation, your outfit needs work."

"I know. I was a little strapped for time." Adrena looked at the device in Electronique's hands. "You have the Reverse Polarizer with you."

"Yes. It would be rather undignified to have to send for it later. I'm not sure I'll use it, but I think we should revert Shego for a while, at least, don't you think?"

"Definitely, I want to see what she thinks of the new her."

"Ah, here come our guests. It is time for one of my favorite perks of villainy: triumphant gloating."

Adrena adopted a position next to Electronique, a smirk forming on her face. This was more Electronique's victory than hers, but she intended to enjoy the results all the same. Seeing her former foes humbled was sweet, regardless of the details of their defeat. She was just sorry Electronique ultimately hadn't arranged for cameras to immortalize the moment. Still, when Hego and Wego dragged the futilely struggling Kim Possible and dejected Shego to stand in front of them on the floor of the studio, she couldn't have contained her glee even had she wanted to.

Adrena looked down at Kim Possible. Hego held her apparently carelessly around the waist, with her arms loose, but she couldn't break free. Hego ignored the occasional strike Kim tried on him. He really did have a thick skin. There was no quit in Kim's expression as she glowered at her and Electronique.

Shego, by comparison, was much more subdued. The difference to their previous fights was striking. Even dressed in her trademark catsuit, she didn't look like herself. Adrena would have expected an angry scowl, but her face showed only quiet desperation. She was held by several copies of Wego, and she wasn't even making an effort to get free. The sight wasn't as satisfying as she would have expected. This was not the enemy who she had fought.

"Ah, the famous Kim Possible." Electronique's voice brought Adrena back to the present. "Welcome to my humble abode, darling. I've been just dying to meet you."

Wasn't that how Electronique had greeted her? Adrena felt a little annoyed. Electronique could stand to come up with some new material. Adrena wondered how much of her villainess routine was indeed just an act.

"Love what you've done with this place." Kim had abandoned her glower for an irritating smirk that showed no awareness of her plight. "The unmatched furniture straight from an office dumpster gives it just that certain 'desperate criminal' feel."

Kim Possible didn't seem to have the most creative lines, either. Adrena suddenly realized that, for all her success, she was still a teenage girl. Strange how different she seemed, restrained and forced to look up at her.

"Yes, my darling Adrena said something similar. I'm sure you two will get along famously." She hefted her Reverse Polarizer for emphasis. "At least after we've adjusted your outlook appropriately."

Adrena wondered if Electronique might not be right. Adrena realized she found the prospect of Kim Possible turned evil even more appealing than her being destroyed. She might well be just as valuable an ally as she was an aggravating enemy. Besides, Kim turned to the side of villainy and shredding her heroic legacy herself would be a fitting revenge.

"You won't get away with this."

"Who's going to stop me? With you and dear Shego there neutralized, I think I've done away with immediate opposition."

Adrena had to wonder how Electronique planned to keep them restrained. The room she'd been locked in wouldn't hold Shego, and she wasn't sure it would hold Kim, either. She looked down at her wrists, and the cuffs on them. It was quite likely Electronique had some more effective restraints for the pair.

"Do you think we came alone?"

"Frankly, yes. You are arrogant enough to think you wouldn't need help, and I don't think Shego wants to involve the authorities, seeing her brothers are now wanted criminals, just like her."

"We'll stop you, you monster, and clear my brothers' names."

"We do have friends, you know."

"I'm sure a pretty young thing like you has no shortage of friends and admirers; and all of them equally vulnerable to my Reverse Polarizer and Adrena's Glow. That is why you didn't bring any with you, is it not? And perhaps I should inform you of one pertinent detail before you get any silly ideas. Adrena, dear?"

That was her cue. Adrena stepped up to the railing and posed for Kim's benefit. "Like my new look? Perhaps you'd like to meet the designer."

Adrena directed Monique to approach the captives from behind and walk between them. Kim must have heard the steps as she strained to look back as Monique walked up past Hego. She could see the shock on Kim's face as recognized the girl, and the glow in her eyes. It was a sweet feeling. Electronique wasn't the only powerful villainess here. She had Monique stand in front of Kim, and directed her to speak.

"You turned down my designs, Kim. Unfortunately for you, I found a more appreciative customer."

Adrena ordered Monique to climb up to the catwalk with her and Electronique. She was struck with the thought that the clothes she was wearing might well have been intended for Kim. It was a strange thought, and she wasn't sure how to feel about it. It was one more connection between herself and Kim. She realized her part still wasn't quite done.

"You understand that the moment you try something, your precious friend will take a swan dive into concrete, don't you?" She tried to accompany the words with a vicious grin, but her heart wasn't really in it. She wasn't sure she'd carry the threat out. She still needed her costumer, after all.

"Leave her out of this. This is between you and me."

"This can't be the first time a hostage has been used against you, darling. We are called villains because we fight dirty." Electronique half turned towards Adrena. "And since you appear to be proof against Adrena's Glow, she needs to improvise."

Adrena wasn't sure how she felt about Electronique speaking for her, but she was hardly in position to criticize her, especially in front of their enemies.

Electronique leaned over the railing, her smile hungry. "And I would very much like to know why you are immune. Now that I have you in my grasp, I won't let you go until I have examined every square inch of that splendid body in intimate detail."

Adrena wished Electronique would have phrased that differently. Surely she was enough for anybody. Then again, the vision of Kim on her knees in front of Electronique wasn't entirely unappealing. Adrena was distracted from her thoughts by the exchange on the floor.

"Uh, technically I have her in my grasp."

Kim ignored Hego and leaned towards Shego. "Is she coming onto me?"

"I was never quite sure about her preference, but I thought she liked Hego."

"Nah, she's into girls, apparently," a Wego said.

"I told you guys she didn't have any sordid intentions towards me."

"Shut up, Hego."

"Shut up, everybody!"

Electronique followed the words with a bolt of electricity that struck the floor in front of the group. Adrena tensed, worrying the heroes might get loose, but Hego's grip didn't slacken, and Wego soon had secure hold on Shego again.

"I can't help but feel some of you are not appreciating the gravity of the situation. I fear I must demonstrate to you who is in charge here." Electronique hefted the Reverse Polarizer. "Adrena: Kim Possible or Shego?"

"Kim." She had become increasingly curious to see what a less heroic Kim would be like over the past couple of minutes. Who knew; perhaps they would indeed have something in common. "Use it on Kim."

Electronique aimed at Kim. It was perceptibly awkward, the device being less a gun and more a helmet with wires attached. She touched the activation stud, and a bolt of light shot towards the young heroine.

The beam was fast, but not too fast for an eye to follow. Adrena perceived everything as in slow motion: Kim's focused expression, the hand thrown futilely up to ward off the beam.

And then the yellow glow around Kim's hand; the flash when the beam connected and, impossibly, shot right back at Electronique. There was another flash of light and desperate voices from far away as chaos erupted in the studio, and only dimly did Adrena recognize one as her own.

"Kim!"

"No! Electronique!"


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

Kim Possible saw Electronique aim the Reverse Polarizer at her and knew it was the moment of decision. She played the one card she had left. The beam met a glowing yellow spheroid around her hand and shot back at the villain. Kim could hear Shego calling her name, but there was no time to focus on that. This might be her last chance to get loose, and she wasn't going to waste it.

The arm around her loosened a little, but not enough for her to get free. She jammed her thumb into Hego's eye. Whether it hurt him or not, it was enough to make him let go. Kim was aware the move was somewhat on the nasty side, and she briefly wondered if the beam might have affected her. She decided it hadn't; she had been planning to try that if a better option didn't appear.

The next order of business was getting Shego free. Kim believed the old Shego would have managed it on her own, but this nicer Shego probably didn't want to use the force it would have required. In some situations the change was a real drawback. This was not a moment to hold back. Wego were still looking at the catwalk. Kim was curious herself, but didn't have time to check what effect the beam had had on Electronique. A few well-placed strikes forced the Wego to let go of Shego.

"Shego, don't just stand around. This is our chance."

"Right. Don't hurt my brothers too bad."

"I won't hurt them any worse than I need to."

"Dodge!"

Kim threw herself back, and just avoided a bolt of electricity that hit Wego instead. She wasn't sure which one of them had been the target, and looked towards Electronique. She looked back with an expression of glee.

"You didn't really think I'd be unprotected from my own weapons, did you?"

"Hey, I might get lucky one day."

"You really are a lot like my Adrena. It's a shame the Reverse Polarizer didn't take, but we can try again." Kim noted that, despite her words, she'd laid the device down. "Right now, though, I'm more intrigued by your Glow. Did you get it at the same time as Adrena? You must have."

"Or did you catch it from your girlfriend?"

"Shush, dear. Let's see it in action again. It's a shield of some kind, no?"

Electronique thrust both arms towards Kim and unleashed more lightning. Kim did her best to get out of the way. Team Go, who had stood respectfully still while Electronique talked, scrambled to get away from her. At least that gave her more room to operate.

Kim reflected one bolt back towards Electronique, but it had no effect on her, her suit appearing to absorb it without trouble. Well, she'd already said she was protected from her own weapons. Kim wished her glow didn't always send the attacks back to the sender, but would let her redirect Electronique's attacks towards Team Go or Adrena. She'd just have to do it the hard way. She dove towards the nearest concentration of Wego. The Wego scattered before they would be hit by Electronique, but at least it disrupted their attack on Shego.

"Shego, target Electronique." She was the one with the ranged attacks, after all.

Shego, momentarily clear, took the opportunity to fling a few green bolts at Electronique. They were deflected by a shimmering force field, but at least Electronique had to stop her attacks while it kicked in. It gave Kim an idea.

Unfortunately the pause in Electronique's fire also gave Hego a chance to come barreling in. Kim dove out of the way, then had to fight off more copies of Wego, which gave Hego enough time to round up on her again. She risked a glance at Electronique just in time to spot her firing again, and reflected the bolt back while avoiding a wild swing from Hego. Fighting on the floor was not a winning tactic. There were just too many threats to keep track of, and she wasn't making any headway on reducing the number.

"Shego, hit her again."

Kim jumped at Hego while drawing her trusty hairdryer grapple. She hit Hego square on the chest with both feet and pushed off while firing the grapple at the railing of the catwalk. Hego was barely staggered, but she activated the retraction mechanism and was pulled towards Adrena and Electronique before he could grab her. Shego had obeyed her command and Electronique was busy with her attack. Adrena's eyes widened in sudden alarm.

Then Monique came diving over the railing, straight towards Kim. Kim let go of the grapple to brace herself for impact. She grabbed hold of Monique as her momentum carried them forward, under the catwalk. She kicked off the wall as they fell. Her combat instincts told her to twist so she would land on top of Monique, but her better sense prevailed. This was her friend, who was in harm's way because of her. She turned so she would land on her back, cradling Monique.

She landed hard on her back, with Monique's weight on her squeezing her ribs and driving the breath out of her. The kick off the wall had added enough sideways momentum that she managed to turn the fall into a roll to bleed off some of the force of the impact, even holding Monique. Kim landed on top, and Monique recovered enough to start fighting her. She didn't have much experience, but she did have spirit; it was like wrestling with a wild cat.

Kim didn't have time to subdue Monique with Team Go looking to cash in on the opportunity. Several copies of Wego were rushing towards her, and she couldn't afford to let them get to her. If they pinned her down, she might not get up again. She disengaged from Monique in one sinuous move, flowing straight into an attack on the closest Wego.

Kim wasn't sure how damage to the copies affected the original Wego, but she didn't have the luxury of pulling her punches when this outnumbered. She could just hope they wouldn't get too hurt, and apologize afterward. The Wego were trying to drag her down with sheer numbers rather than through any sophisticated tactics, but quantity had a quality all its own. Kim stayed in motion, avoiding the attempts to grab her, and striking back hard. Every move ended in a punch or a kick.

Monique got up on her feet and her orange eyes focused on Kim. Kim rolled under a grab from Wego and gave Monique a quick shove in the direction of Shego, who was holding off her share of Wego copies and Hego. Her powered punches appeared to be giving Hego more pause than Kim's. She couldn't really push the advantage while harassed by Wego, though, and she seemed reluctant to hit them hard enough to put them out of the fight.

"Shego, stun Monique." Preferably before she regained her balance and did something dangerous.

"Kim, I told you, it's a risky move."

Shego hadn't hesitated to use the technique on Ron when they faced Adrena the first time around. It had never occurred to Kim that excessive niceness could be such a drawback.

"The sooner she's down, the less chance she'll have to get herself hurt. Do it!"

"If you're sure..."

Shego disengaged from Hego and reached a hand towards Monique's head. Monique tried to avoid it, but was hindered by the press of bodies around them. Shego's glow flared for a brief moment and Monique slumped to the ground. Why wasn't she using the move on Wego?

Perhaps it took more concentration than she could muster in the melee. Her focus on Monique gave Wego a chance to get a hold on her. Kim rushed to her aid, hoping to avoid Wego attacking her in turn with sheer speed. Mego popped up in front of her, and Kim aimed an elbow at him, but he shrunk down to avoid it. She'd almost forgotten about him.

Kim hit the Wego hard, and managed to clear herself and Shego some breathing room. Mego appeared in front of her again. She fainted with a punch, and he shrunk down just in time to catch her kick. His power did strange things to his mass as he changed size. He definitely weighed more than an action figure, but less than he did when full-sized. Her kick sent him flying across the room. She didn't have time to see if he got up or not, as Hego rushed her.

Kim retreated towards the back wall, baiting Hego for an attack. He came forwards in a crouch with arms extended, clearly intending to grab her again. He probably expected her to try to duck under his arms, but Kim jumped over him as he lunged. She planted her feet on the back of his head and pushed off with all her might. Hego was off-balance enough that she actually managed to stagger him. She felt his face being driven into the wall. Maybe that would slow him down for a moment.

More importantly, using him as a springboard she managed to grab the edge of the catwalk above her. She had to take down Adrena and Electronique to have any chance of victory. She swung herself over the railing in one acrobatic move, landing in front of Adrena Lynn. Shego had fortunately picked up on her plan and launched a barrage of glowing projectiles to distract the villains, allowing her to reach the position unopposed.

"Give it up, Adrena."

Adrena brandished a stick in each hand and set herself against Kim. "Not a chance, Kim Possible." One of the sticks crackled with electricity. "This time, I'll come out on top."

"How many times is this, now? You aren't in my league."

"We'll see about that."

Adrena lunged at Kim, striking with a stick. Kim evaded to the side, the catwalk having just enough space for the move. Electronique took the opportunity to send a bolt her way, and Kim quickly scrambled to put Adrena between them again. She needed to be done fast, before Wego could attack her from behind. Shego couldn't keep all of them pinned. She activated her glow.

"So that's why my power doesn't work on you. How can you possibly get that lucky?"

Kim received the next strike on her shield, and Adrena's arm was thrown back when the stick made contact. She barely managed to keep hold of her weapon.

"Anything is possible for a Possible." Kim kicked Adrena just above her knee while she was off balance. "Or maybe you're just unlucky, to give your enemy the perfect defense to your power right when you got it."

"I will destroy you!"

Adrena charged forward with a high strike, favoring one leg. Kim stepped back out of the way and Adrena overbalanced. Kim capitalized by punching her in the face. She pulled back a little, not wanting her glow to take her head off. She needn't have worried; her punch connected with all the effectiveness of a balloon. She wondered if it was yet another power interaction, or if she and her glow just had drastically different views on the sanctity of conservation laws.

Adrena blinked, equally surprised. Before she could recover, Kim extinguished her glow and hit her in the solar plexus. Adrena took a step forwards, then dropped on her knee, sticks falling from her hands. Kim knew she was futilely trying to draw a breath, panicking as she found she couldn't. She would need a few seconds to recover. Kim kneed her in the chin, remembering her glass jaw. Adrena went down and didn't get up. Kim bent to pick up one of the sticks and stepped over her prone body, eyes on Electronique.

"You know, I've grown quite fond of that face."

"It'll heal." It wasn't such a bad face, really.

"I don't generally like to get my hands dirty, but I think I'm going to enjoy taking you down."

Kim considered banter an essential part of freak fighting, but in this case she suspected Electronique was stalling while copies of Wego rushed to her aid. She could hear their feet pounding the metal stairs. Letting Electronique get the last word for now, she rushed forwards, fainting to her right. Electronique attacked with an electric discharge again, as she'd expected. She dodged to the left and brought the stick down, her thumb finding the activation button as she struck. The hit rebounded from crackling shield that came into being around Electronique.

"Shield for every occasion, huh?" Electricity didn't seem to bother her, but adding a physical attack made her resort to a shield.

"I'm very versatile. Now: fry."

Kim evaded Electronique's attack by jumping to the railing, then used it as a springboard to jump to the wall above Electronique. "Shego, hit her now!"

As Kim went sailing over the villain, she saw Shego obey her from the corner of her eye. The effort left her visibly spent, and the Wego copies around her took advantage of the opportunity. The other copies had reached the catwalk and were rushing towards her. This gambit had to work; she was running out of time. Kim landed behind Electronique and threw the stick at her head.

"It is futile, heroes. My defenses are impregnable..." Electronique's sentence was cut short and her body went rigid, the shield not stopping the beam from the Reverse Polarizer this time.

Kim let her thumb off the activation stud of the device she had scooped up while Electronique was distracted. "I figured maybe you had different shields for different threats, rather than one that could handle everything."

"Yes, yes, quite brilliant; and I'm grateful you have shown me the light. But could you perhaps revert these fine young gentlemen back to their heroic selves before they do us violence? I'd hate to hurt them unnecessarily."

"How do I do that?"

"Simply use the Reverse Polarizer on them. I configured it so that a second strike removes any alterations done by the device. It was not an easy thing to accomplish, but the added elegance of design was well worth the trouble, don't you agree?"

Kim beamed down the Wego copies on the catwalk. "Yes. Very handy." She turned towards the floor. Hego was an easy target, and she wasted no time in turning him back, then picked off the Wego bodies surrounding Shego. Mego was lying in a heap in a corner, in his full size, making him easy to deal with. Kim surveyed the now quiet battlefield. Shego was being helped up by Wego while Hego looked confusedly around. It was over.

* * *

Kim scanned the studio one last time, but everything seemed to be in order. Team Go was back to their old selves, as far as she could tell. She didn't think they'd be subtle enough to fake being restored, but it would be verified in time. Electronique had confirmed that the Reverse Polarizer left a distinct mark on the brain that could be detected.

The good Electronique seemed genuinely repentant for her past self's misdeeds and hadn't protested against being restrained. She had even been good enough to give Kim the controller for the cuffs that could suppress Adrena's glow, which was very handy. The pair of them were currently being watched by Team Go, though Adrena had yet to regain consciousness.

Monique was up, however. Apparently Shego had tried to use the smallest possible amount of power in rendering her unconscious, though she certainly seemed like she might have a concussion. At least she was free from mind control. Kim had urged her to rest for the moment. She still felt bad about having dragged her into this mess, but glad she had come through mostly unharmed.

Kim walked up to Shego, who was a little worse for the wear. Kim suspected her body would be covered in bruises after tangling with Wego and Hego, but frazzled as she was, she still looked relieved. The sight of her reminded Kim that she would likely be hurting herself, once the adrenaline wore out. They had both been through a wringer. But the crisis wasn't quite over yet.

"You did it. I almost didn't believe it, but you did it."

"We did it. We saved your brothers, and caught the bad guys. Well, girls."

"It's finally over."

"It's almost over."

"Yeah, we still need to get Electronique and Adrena Lynn into custody, and make sure my brothers are in the clear, but I'm sure it'll work out."

"With Electronique's testimony and me to vouch for them, I'm sure their name will be cleared. That wasn't what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?"

"Shego..." Kim played with the modified Attitudinator helmet in her hands. "There's something I've struggled with lately, and I wish I could ask for your advice, but I can't. It has to be on me." Kim looked at Shego, her expression determined.

"Kimmie?" Shego's eyes strayed to the device, then back at Kim's face, filling with panic. "No, Kim, don't—"

Kim's finger touched the activation stud. "I'm sorry."

Bright flash surrounded Shego. Her body went rigid, then slumped forward, disheveled hair falling to obscure her face. Kim waited, holding her breath while her heart raced in her chest.

Shego looked back up at her, face contorted with fury. Kim flinched as green glow lit around her clawed fingers. She slashed, and her claws cut right through the Reverse Polarizer.

Kim dropped the sparking and smoking remains. "Shego, I hadn't turned Electronique back yet."

Shego glanced towards the ex-villainess, then back at Kim. "Poetic justice, Kimmie. Serves her right." Her expression was neutral, but Kim hoped she glimpsed some guilt in it.

"How do you feel?"

"Like crap, Kimmie. I was beat up by Wego of all people, and I exhausted myself pretty bad using my Glow so much." Shego grimaced.

"That's not what I meant."

"You've been mind-controlled before, Kimmie. You know how it feels."

"It wasn't mind-control, though, it was a shift in personality."

"All the same, for the past few days it wasn't me in charge." Shego looked around. "I'd rather not be here when the law gets here. Catch you later, Kimmie." She started walking for the side exit.

"Wait!" Kim took a step towards retreating Shego. "I just need to know: was it... was it the right thing to do?"

Shego turned back to look at Kim from the doorway. "Why are you asking me, Kimmie? I'm not exactly an authority on ethics." She looked away for a second, then back at Kim. "But for what it's worth... thank you." Then she was gone.

Kim, staring at the door, heard someone walk up to her. She turned her head enough to see it was Monique.

"Why did you do it, Kim?"

"It was the right thing to do. We turned everyone else back, she deserved the same."

"Even if she's back to being a villain?"

"That's her choice."

"You know she's going to commit crimes again, hurt people. It could be said that's on you, now."

Kim turned to face Monique. "Then I'll be sure to stop her. Just like always."

"Kim, did you really turn her back because you thought it was the right thing to do?" Monique took a deep breath. "Or did you do it because you prefer her this way."

"Monique..." Kim turned away once more. "I undid everything Electronique did. That's good enough, right?"

"Kim, I just..."

"Yes?"

"Never mind. Let's go home."


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

Shego walked up the wide stairs leading to Upperton Museum of Modern Art and entered the building without trouble. In other circumstances the dark glasses and the scarf wrapped around her face would have looked suspicious, but this was an art museum, and pretentious women of varying ages were not an unusual sight here. She bought a ticket and reached the exhibition without as much as a second glance her way.

The Sunday afternoon crowd was thin. Shego leisurely wandered the rooms, taking the pieces in. She wasn't exactly an art aficionado, but she liked to visit interesting exhibitions every once in a while. Modern art wasn't usually her thing, but here and there some items caught her attention. She didn't know all that much about art, but she knew what she liked. At least, she had believed she knew what she liked.

She wasn't quite sure what she was doing there, but she wasn't quite sure about a lot of things she'd done lately. Electronique's device–the Reverse Polarizer–had really done a number on her. One minute she was a villain looking to lay low in some comfort, and the next she was running to her long time enemy for help. Not to mention taking a job as her teacher.

What had that all been about? Had she really been acting out of some deep-seated longing to be a teacher? She had studied for it; it had been a career that had interested her, once. It seemed like a lifetime ago, and in a way it was. She had buried that ambition with the rest of her old life. Once she'd embraced villainy, she had cut most of her ties to the organized society.

Maybe all the dreams of her youth hadn't been completely buried, maybe they'd just been dormant, waiting for the Reverse Polarizer to bring them to life. Being a schoolteacher. The domestic dreams of a spouse and a home. She wasn't sure that had to include dating basically the first man to give her attention. Had she really been that desperate, her standards that low?

It wasn't impossible. Shego knew her career in villainy left her unsuited for any sort of ordinary life. She was attractive, and dangerous, and confident, and she had absolutely nothing to offer to any decent person. It was possible she'd decided Steve Barkin was as good as she could dare to aspire to. Of course, that hadn't been her overriding motivation. Most importantly he had been a convenient distraction from a much more problematic desire.

Shego recalled a desire to stay away from any suggestion of impropriety, even if she didn't really recognize it as belonging to her, anymore. The feelings aroused by an underage female student of hers had most definitely not been proper, from her altered perspective. Not like an office romance with a distinctly masculine man with a secure, if low-paying job.

It all came round to Kim, of course. No matter the polarity of her personality, she didn't seem to be able to make up her mind. It was funny, really. As herself she seemed to have inordinate difficulty in resisting the temptation of a sexual dalliance with the hero, despite acknowledging the danger that things might get more serious than intended, with probable ugly fallout.

Under the influence of the Reverse Polarizer, her main fear had been that the affair might not be serious enough; that Kim was only after a bit of fun, rather than a committed relationship. Still she had been unable to stay away from Kim. It was no wonder if she had confused Kim, insisting she wasn't interested while doing her utmost to spend as much time as she could with her. All told, Shego decided Miss Go was the more pathetic of her personalities.

She had been so taken in by the illusion of a normal life that she had completely ignored the reality. She had been willfully blind to the fact that the situation couldn't have lasted for very long. Her degree might be real enough, but the paper-thin fake identity she had used as a student—at the faculty's blessing—couldn't have stood up to any kind of scrutiny. It hadn't been designed to hide her identity as a hero, only to allow her to study without giving away her real name. Just because she had really wanted to not be a villain anymore to the point of pretending to be a different person didn't mean the arrest warrants went away. The law would have arrived sooner or later, and that would have been the end of her make-believe life in Middleton.

She didn't think the revelation would have gone over too will with Steve Barkin, either. Shego shuddered at the thought of the man, his overbearing presence, his lack of dress sense, his would-be romantic overtures. Had she really been willing to suffer through another date with him just to deceive Kim, or maybe herself? He wasn't exactly the greatest prize out there. He was certainly no Kim. Which was why she was here rather than at the rollerskating rink.

Shego had to wonder what had made Kim turn her back. She recalled telling Kim she didn't want to return to her old personality. She had been confused, of course, but Kim had no reason to go against that wish. Had she felt she owed it to all of Electronique's victims to restore them? Or was it because she'd finally accepted that the alternate version of Shego wasn't going to give her what she wanted? As heroic as Kim could be, she did have a selfish streak, not to mention a bad case of teenage hormones. If she'd been willing to scratch Kim's itch when she was good, would she still be that way?

Shego walked into another room and finally spotted the redhead she had kept an eye out for. Kim was studying an abstract painting of greens and yellows. She hadn't really dared to expect Kim to come, considering she hadn't exactly been herself when they had agreed to the date. Only the kind of teenage optimism that had sent Kim waiting by the prison on the off-chance that Shego would break out during that very night could have brought her here. Just as well that it had; Shego would have felt really silly if Kim hadn't been here.

"I'm not sure about the painting, Princess."

"I like the colors."

"If you say so."

The stood in silence for a while, side by side in front of the painting.

"You're not thinking about stealing it, are you?"

"No. Well, yes, but I'm not planning to. I don't do art theft."

"Really? Is it out of some kind of respect?"

"I don't have the kind of contacts you need to make a profit at it. Not everybody can move that stuff."

"Ah."

"Besides, it's too easy to even be fun. You just cut it out of the frame when nobody's looking, and walk out with it under your coat. Boring."

"You might find that a little harder with me here."

"Things tend to be less boring with you around." As well as quite a bit harder.

"Miss Go seemed to like things boring."

"There was no Miss Go. It was just me, zonked out of my mind."

"Do you remember it all?"

"Yeah. My thought processes are a little fuzzy, but I remember the events. I explained how it felt, right? The same thing, only in reverse."

"The dream logic thing?"

"Something like that."

"How much of her was you? Did I learn something about you, or was is all just fantasy?"

"The way I see it, we all put on a front when we interact with the world. It was me, but I was projecting a very different image, and I had different values. I'm not looking to settle down as a schoolteacher." Shego hadn't meant to be quit so honest. Kim had a way of tempting her into opening up, simply by assuming it was something they could do.

"Yeah, I didn't think so. What about, uh, Mr. Bar—"

"Don't bring him up, please. You're going to make me hurl." Shego was nonetheless grateful for the distraction. She made a show of scrutinizing the painting. "Not that anyone would notice if I puked on that one."

Another silence descended on them.

"I broke up with Ron."

"Congratulations."

"Shego."

"Sorry. But really, I was more surprised you were even dating him. Especially considering..."

"That I was chasing you? Yeah, not my finest moment. I convinced myself the things were separate."

Shego gave a noncommittal grunt, then felt something more was called for. "Was it bad?"

"Do you really care?"

"You brought it up. I might as well listen."

"I actually chickened out. He started to freak out, so I told him I just wanted to take a break for a while. You know, to give us both a chance to figure out if this was really what we wanted."

"Did he buy that?"

"I don't know. But I wasn't lying, really. I do need to figure some things out. I might decide he's the one I want, after all."

"Yeah, that's not going to happen, is it?"

"Probably not. I don't know. I just didn't want to... If I wanted to let him down easy, I would have needed to explain all of it. You know, about liking girls. Liking you. I don't need that drama right now."

"If you say so."

"I'm going to have to talk to him again, aren't I? To do it right."

"Your call. I don't get involved in teenage drama."

"But you do get involved with teenagers."

"Only if they're really hot."

"You think I'm hot?"

"I wouldn't accept all that baggage if the prize wasn't worth it."

"Can you be serious for a second?"

"Okay." Shego turned to fully face Kim. "Kimmie, I couldn't tell you this when I was good, but I'd really like to have sex with you."

Kim's eyebrows shot up. "Do you really mean that?"

"Don't get me wrong. The same rules as before: no strings attached and no promises. If I think you're getting too clingy, I'm calling it off."

"What changed?"

It was simple, really. She had been worried Kim was looking for commitment, but the experience of the recent days had convinced her she was just looking for thrills. She could handle that. "Hey, I told you I might give it another shot one day. Do you want to come back to my place or not?"

"You have a place?"

"I rented an apartment right here in Upperton. I though it might come in handy. Now, do you want to ask me more pointless questions, or do you want to help me break it in?"

Kim grabbed her arm and headed for the door.

* * *

Shego lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling, sweat cooling on her skin. The room was gloomy with the blinds drawn, and the ceiling was lost in shadows. Smell of sex permeated the somewhat musty air. Kim was curled against her side, the way she liked to do. It was very much like cuddling, but Shego hadn't felt like dissuading her, this time. Every square inch where Kim's skin was touching hers tingled from the interaction of their powers.

"Um. This was nice, right?"

"Better than nice, Kimmie."

"Practice makes perfect. We'll get there yet."

That presupposed plenty more occasions for practice. Right at that moment Shego found it hard to remember why that would be a bad thing.

"What are you thinking?"

"Nothing much, really."

They lay in silence for a long while. It was very comfortable. More than comfortable, with the Glow interaction, and another, more profound feeling.

"Hey, Kimmie, did you ever watch 'The Slayer'?"

"What?" Shego felt Kim shift, maybe to get a better look at her face. "I might have seen an episode or two, I think. Not really my thing."

"I though you would have got a kick out of a high school cheerleader fighting the forces of darkness."

"I don't really watch a lot of television." Kim settled back down. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason."

Even if Shego could explain the thought, she wasn't sure she'd want to. She did recognize her Reverse Polarized self's longing for normalcy; for a life that included friends, colleagues, and romance. Shego had chosen a different life. At the time she had found it a better deal, but she might have been too young to really appreciate the cost. She was never going to be a member of the productive society. She was always going to be alone. Even if the warrants for her arrest somehow went away, what did she have to offer anyone? She was a villain, a violent criminal. She was damaged goods.

Yet here she was, with Kim. Shego had been sure that her actions and choices had damned her forever. The fact that someone as pure and good as Kim accepted her was almost unbelievable. She couldn't really name the feeling it aroused in her. It felt like... salvation, maybe. For a moment, at least, it felt like her future wasn't necessarily as dark as she'd always thought.

It wasn't the sex that had brought her here. The sex was good, great even, and would likely only get better, but she had never had trouble finding partners for that. She was here for this feeling only Kim could give her, the one that made her feel like she wasn't lost forever. It was this feeling, Shego now knew, that would bring her back, again and again, for as long as Kim would have her.

And she knew that one day Kim would tire of this arrangement. She might find a secret sex affair with a villainess exciting for now, but eventually the thrill would wear off, and she'd start looking for a partner who could offer her more. Shego didn't think Kim was going to settle down for a good long while yet, but she would probably want someone she could go out with in public. Shego knew the day would come when Kim would move on and she would be alone in the darkness again.

But that day was not today. Shego wrapped an arm around Kim to hold her closer and enjoyed her little piece of heaven.


End file.
